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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



CHRISTIAN 



BY/ 
WILLIAM S. PLUMER, D.D. 




PHILADELPHIA : 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO 

1878. 









M°* 



Copyright, 1878, by 
William S. Plumer 




CONTENTS. 



The Christian Name, ------ 5 

The Christian Profession, ----- 9 

The Christian Life, - - - - - - -13 

The Christian Doctrine, ----- 17 

The Christian Character — an Example, - 21 

The Christian's Simplicity, ----- 28 

The Christian's Way, ------ 32 

The Christian's Temptations, - 37 

The Christian's Victory over Temptations, - 41 

The Christian's Views of Sin, - - - - 44 

The Christian's Besetting Sins, 50 

The Christian's Sense of Responsibility, - 54 

The Christian's Faith, ------ 57 

Why Do I Rest Confidently in Christ ? - - 61 

The Christian's Hope, ------ 67 

The Christian's Trust, ----- 72 

A Christian's Good Resolutions, 76 

The Christian Lives by Rule, - 81 



iv Contents. 

The Christian's Enemies, - - - - - - 85 

The Christian's Shepherd, ----- 89 

The Christian's Advocate, ----- 92 

The Christian's Earnest, ----- 96 

The Christian's Joy, ------- 100 

The Christian's Sorrow, ----- 104 

The Christian's Sorrow — more about it, - - no 

The Christian's Hatred of Error, - - - 113 

The Christian's Glorious Riches, - - - - 117 

Some Musings of an Old Christian, - - - 120 

Letter to an Aged Christian, - - - - 123 

Death of an Old Disciple, ----- 129 

A Great and Good Man, ------ 132 

Another Great and Good Man, - - - 137 

What Can I Do? - - - -.."-'- - 141 

Posthumous Usefulness, 144 



THE CHRISTIAN. 



THE CHRISTIAN NAME. 

The word Christian is found but three times in all 
the Scriptures. The places where it occurs are Acts 
xi. 26 ; Acts xxvi. 28 ; and I Peter iv. 16. These 
read as follows : " And the disciples were called 
Christians first at Antioch." " Then Agrippa said 
unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Chris- 
tian. " " Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him 
not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this be- 
half." 

The chronology of some of the events recorded in 
the Acts is not entirely certain, but it seems pretty 
clear that the followers of our Lord were not called 
Christians till ten or twelve years after our Saviour's 
ascension to heaven. 

I once heard a sermon on Acts xi. 26, in which it 
was assumed that the name Christian, like that of 
Puritan or Methodist, was first given in reproach, and 
by enemies ; and was afterward adopted by the dis- 
ciples of our Lord, as a name which they were willing 
to bear. And it can not be denied that in every age 
odious epithets have been heaped upon the godly. It 
is also certain from the history of the trial and mar- 
tyrdom of Polycarp, that for a long time the enemies 



6 The Christian. 

of the Cross employed the term to revile and accuse. 
But this does not prove that bad men first gave the 
name. 

These things seem to be clear : 

1. Christian is a very fit name for all the followers 
of Christ. They are in Christ. They love and adore 
Christ. They are ready to die for Christ. He is their 
Saviour and Redeemer. They are not ashamed of 
Him, and He is not ashamed of them. They are the 
friends, followers, and redeemed of Jesus Christ. He 
is all in all to them. They are precious to Him. He 
says so, Isa. xliii. 4. 

2. Christian is a very convenient name. It well 
designates God's people, and in itself sums up the 
whole matter. Other names are given to God's peo- 
ple, and some of them are very appropriate, but none 
is more fitting than this. 

3. It was foretold by the evangelical prophet that 
in the latter days the Church should receive a new 
appellation : " The Gentiles shall see thy righteous- 
ness, and all kings thy glory : and thou shalt be called 
by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall 
name." — Isa. lxii. 2. This passage no doubt indicates 
the great blessing arising from the altered state and 
prospects of the Gospel Church. But may it not also 
be interpreted as having been literally fulfilled in the 
bestowment of the name Christian? Many have so 
thought. 

4. Nor were there wanting in the primitive Church 
persons by whom the Lord could fitly change the 
name of His people ; for in immediate connection 
with the historic statement that " the disciples were 



The Christian Name. J 

called Christians first at Antioch," it is added, " And 
in these days came prophets from Jerusalem to An- 
tioch. And there stood up one of them, named 
Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should 
be great dearth throughout all the world ; which 
came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar." — Acts 
xi. 26-28. There were inspired men who were able 
to make known the mind of God and to speak by His 
authority. 

5. The people of God have ever since, and without 
hesitation, borne the name of Christians. The in- 
spired historian, Luke, says nothing against it. Peter 
speaks of it approvingly. Evidently good men have 
long accepted it as if it were from the Lord. 

Some one may ask, What is in a Name ? The 
answer is, that there is a great deal in a name ; and in 
giving a name, one exercises high authority. It is 
recorded as one of the acts of the intelligence and 
authority of Adam that he gave names to all cattle, 
and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the 
field. — Gen. ii. 20. Jehovah himself asserts His pre- 
rogative in giving and changing names as He pleases. 
Thus He changed the names of Abraham, Jacob, and 
Sarah. Thus He directed that the name of His in- 
carnate Son should be called Jesus. Names are 
things when properly applied. They are indeed often 
borne unworthily, often misapplied. But it would 
shock our pious feelings if the ancient Church had re- 
ceived her names from Cain, or Canaan, or Korah, 
or any notoriously bad man, instead of being called 
Jacob, Israel, Joseph, Abraham's seed, and spoken 
of in other like terms indicative of glory and virtue. 



8 * The Christian, 

In the Christian name is so much that is precious, 
that nothing could persuade good men to give it up. 
Even bad men love to have the epithet Christian 
bestowed upon- their loved ones who have left the 
world. 

Reader, are you a Christian ; a real, living, firm, 
consistent Christian ? You have the name, but are 
you worthy of it ? Is your union with Christ close 
and vital ? Do you live in Him ? Do you live for 
Him? Do you live to Him? Do you wish to live 
and reign with Him ? Have you duly considered the 
import of the name you bear? It means much more 
than being born in a Christian land. Worthily to 
bear the name of a Christian, is the greatest honor 
and the greatest happiness ever attained on earth. 

Christian is the highest style of man. 



THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. 

In the New Testament the same Greek verb is 
rendered both confess and profess. In these places it 
is rendered confess, viz. : Matt. x. 32 ; Luke xii. 8 ; 
John i. 20, ix. 22, xii. 42 ; Acts xxiii. 8, xxiv. 14; Rom. 
x. 9 ; Heb. xi. 13 ; 1 John i. 9, iv> 2, 3, 15 ; and 2 John 
7. In the following places the same verb is rendered 
profess, viz.: Matt. vii. 23; 1 Tim. vi. 12; Titus i. 16. 
In like manner the cognate noun is sometimes ren- 
dered profession, as in 1 Tim. vi. 12 ; and in the very- 
next verse it is rendered confession. 

If there is any difference between a confession and 
a profession, it is that the former is made in the face 
of danger, while the latter is a mere setting forth of 
our belief and practice. Each is an avowal of one's 
convictions or of one's belief. Each is a declaration 
of what is supposed to be truth. 

A Christian profession is called for — 

1. By the very nature of the case, Christ's kingdom 
is both spiritual and voluntary. If men consent not 
to serve Him, they are His enemies. If they bow to 
His yoke, how can they more fitly declare that fact 
than by avowing their love to Him ? If none of 
Christ's friends declare for Him, He will soon have 
no friends in this world. 

2. A proper and becoming profession of love to 
Christ is useful to others. It emboldens timid disci- 



io The Christian. 

pies. It confirms the faltering. It awakens the dull 
and inattentive. It makes men feel that there is a 
reality in religion. Very few things are more potent 
for good than a solemn profession of Christ's religion. 
Many a man has been stout and hardened till he saw 
his wife, or child, or brother, standing up to take upon 
them the vows of God. It was proof of desperate 
wickedness in the chief priests and elders that when 
even the publicans and harlots believed John, and 
these officials saw it, they repented not afterward 
that they might believe. — Matt. xxi. 32. 

3. A Christian profession is commended in the 
Word of God. It is called " a good profession." — 1 
Tim. vi. 12. It is in itself right, comely, beautiful, 
excellent, as the Greek word signifies. 

4. A Christian profession is commanded by Him 
who has all authority in the case. His word and 
providence unite in saying: Who is on the Lord's 
side ? Come out from among them. Be ye separate, 
saith the Lord. Choose ye this day whom ye will 
serve. 

5. Very glorious promises are annexed to a right 
Christian profession, and very awful threatenings are 
uttered against those who refuse to own the Re- 
deemer. Hear the Saviour, who shall be our final 
Judge : " Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before 
men, him will I confess also before My Father which 
is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before 
men, him will I also deny before My Father which is 
in heaven." — Matt. x. 32, 33. Compare Luke xii. 8, 
9; Mark viii. 38; Luke ix. 26; Rom. x. 9, 10. 

But what is implied in a Christian profession ? It 



A Christian Profession. II 

is plainly to own the whole truth of God as made 
known to us. To profess any error or falsehood can 
not but be dishonoring to God. A good profession 
clearly implies an adherence to the truth of God. 
And no lie is of the truth. It is also a declaration of 
a purpose to observe all God's statutes and ordinances. 
There is no piety where there is no keeping of the 
Commandments. A good profession is always fol- 
lowed by walking in the ways of the Lord, following 
His example, and framing our doings to please Him 
and serve His people. And all this is with humble 
subjection to Christ in all things. 
A Christian profession must be — 

1. Sincere and hearty. Not only must it not be 
basely hypocritical, but in it there must not be even 
self-deception. It must be honestly made. In it 
must be no reserves, no relentings. A profession of 
love without love is offensive to every right mind. 

2. It must be humble, not vain-glorious and osten- 
tatious. Jehu called on men to witness his zeal for 
the Lord of hosts. He was a poor, vain creature. 

3. A Christian profession must be open and public. 
Christ made no secret of His love to us. Why should 
we make a secret of our love to Him ? " Let your 
light so shine before men that they may see your 
good works, and glorify your Father which is in 
heaven."— Matt. v. 16. 

4. Our profession should also be bold and fearless. 
We should not seem to be asking pardon for being 
followers of Jesus Christ. Paul says : " I am not 
ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power 
of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." 



12 The Christian, 

— Rom. i. 1 6. There is an apologetic way of avowing 
truth which seems to provoke opposition. We must 
stand up for Jesus, cost what it may. The life of the 
truth is more important than the life of any man up- 
on earth. We must resist even unto the shedding of 
blood, if necessary. 

5. A Christian profession is until death. In this 
war there is no discharge. " If any man draw back, 
my soul shall have no pleasure in him," says God. — 
Heb. x. 38. 

In this work we have great encouragement. " Let 
us hold fast the profession of our faith without wav- 
ering; for He is faithful that promised." — Heb. x. 23. 
How faithful He is the saints of all ages can testify. 
His faithfulness never fails. It reaches to the heav- 
ens. It is unto all generations. 



THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 

When we speak of the Christian life, we may refer 
either to the gracious principle implanted in the heart 
of the regenerate, or to the ordinary methods of its 
manifestation. Let us look at both. 

The life of God in the soul of a believer is a great 
mystery. In any case life is somewhat unknown to 
us. But the life of a child of God is very far removed 
from the ken of the careless. Believers themselves 
are God's hidden ones. They are fed and nourished 
by the hidden manna. The secret of the Lord is 
with them. He shows them His covenant. Their 
life is hid with Christ in God. True, when Christ, 
who is their life, shall appear, then shall they also ap- 
pear with Him in glory. But now they are unknown 
to the world, except as their light shines in the dark- 
ness. 

The Christian life is supernatural. It is something 
far above the powers of the carnal man. That the 
blind should see, the deaf hear, the lame man leap as 
an hart, and the dead live, can be accounted for only 
on the ground that it is the work of God. We are 
all dead in trespasses and sins, until Divine grace 
makes us new creatures. Over our understanding, 
dense clouds of smoke and thick darkness from the 
bottomless pit have settled. We have eyes, but we 
see not. Our imaginations are vain. Our memories 



H The Christian. 

are polluted. Our ingenuity devises mischief and 
foolish evasions and excuses. Our wills are perverse 
and stubborn. Our daring in sin is frightful. To 
think of our state might well make one to shudder. 
Our enmity to God is mortal. If such are changed 
from hatred to love, from sin to holiness, it must be 
by God's power, His mighty power. 

This Christian life is the gift of the Holy Ghost, 
and no man knows the way of the Spirit. " The 
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the 
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh 
nor whither it goeth ; so is every one that is born of 
the Spirit." It is but vanity and presumption for us 
poor worms to claim to comprehend the ways of God. 

The Christian life is to the soul that experiences jt 
a new life. Old things have passed away. All things 
are become new. Like all new life, it is full of won- 
ders. Everything pertaining to it is fresh and suited 
to rejoice the heart. 

And so it is a happy life. The joy of the Lord has 
great strength in it. The buoyancy of the soul that 
is stayed on God is often wonderful — always mighty. 

This life is also abiding. It is not always equally 
strong, but it is fed by new supplies of strength 
until the last. 

Of course the Christian life is a great mercy. So 
says the apostle of the circumcision : " Blessed be the 
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, ac- 
cording to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us 
again unto a lively hope," etc. So says the apostle 
of the Gentiles: " God, who is rich in mercy, for His 
great love wherewith He loved us, even when we 



The Christian Life. 15 

were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with 
Christ," etc. 

The Christian life manifests itself — 

1. By healthful and regular pulsations. The child 
of God has a heart, and its throbbings are not spas- 
modic and occasional. Because Christ lives in them, 
the life of Christians is constant. 

2. The Christian life manifests itself by cries — cries 
that enter the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. As soon 
as Paul was renewed, it was said of him, " Behold, he 
prayeth." No Christian lives without prayer. 

3. The Christian life manifests itself by a relish for 
suitable food. Even the new-born babe desires the 
sincere milk of the Word that it may grow thereby. 
After awhile the strong meat of God's Word is re- 
quired, and it is relished also. 

4. Wondrously, too, does the child of grace enjoy 
the pure and heavenly atmosphere of the Church and 
ordinances of God's house, and the sweet moments 
of the communion of saints in prayer and praise, in 
supplication and thanksgiving. 

5. Such Christians will grow — will grow up into 
more and more stability, heavenly-mindedness, con- 
stancy, courage, love, faith, and hope. Of some, Paul 
says their faith grew exceedingly. 

6. The Christian life will show itself by activity. 
There will sooner or later be motion where there is life. 
In due time the renewed man will walk, and leap, and 
praise God. When one said to an ancient philoso- 
pher, " There is no such thing as motion," the sage 
said not a word, but arose and walked across the 
room. That was answer enough. So if any say 



1 6 The Christian. 

there is no Christian life in the world, let us, by walk- 
ing in all the commandments and ordinances of the 
Lord blamelessly, prove that they are mistaken. 

There is a reality, there is a power in heartfelt 
piety. On this earth nothing is more powerful. Bat 
for it the world would soon come to an end — the 
cries of its wickedness perpetually calling for ven- 
geance. But as ten righteous men would have saved 
the cities of the plain, so for the elect's sakes the day 
of vengeance is shortened and the day of grace pro- 
longed. 



THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 

The word doctrine is found more than fifty times 
in the Scriptures. It has various shades of meaning, 
but it commonly has the idea of knowledge, instruc- 
tion, tenet. Our present business is with Christian 
doctrine. 

The prophets, Christ, and His Apostles did teach 
something coherent and harmonious. There is a 
system of truth. It differs from Paganism, Moham- 
medanism, Deism, Judaism. Christian doctrine em- 
braces the truths of the Gospel. In general it con- 
sists in the instruction given us in all God's Word. 
In particular it is made up of those great principles 
urged by Christ and His Apostles as expository of 
the Old Testament, and as declaring the mind and 
will of God. 

There is such a thing as Christian doctrine in op- 
position to anti-Christian error. Truth is opposed to 
falsehood. Both Solomon and Paul speak of " good 
doctrine." Four times does Paul speak of "sound 
doctrine," which is the same as good doctrine. All 
true and sound doctrine is good whether it pleases 
or offends men. In Scripture it is called " the doc- 
trine of God," "the doctrine of the Lord," "the doc- 
trine of God our Saviour," " the doctrine of Jesus," 
" the doctrine of Christ," " the doctrine of the 
Apostles," " the doctrine which is according to godli- 
ness." In Scripture it is synonymous with " truth," 



1 8 The Christian. 

"the truth in Christ," "the truth as it is in Jesus," 
" the truth of God/' and " the word of truth." It is 
elsewhere called the " form of sound words," and 
" sound speech that can not be condemned." 

Christian doctrine is just the opposite of what the 
Bible calls " strange doctrines," " the doctrines and 
commandments of men," " philosophy and vain de- 
ceit," " the doctrines of devils," " the traditions of 
men," " damnable heresies." 

So that it can not be denied that there is such a 
thing as sound doctrine, just as there is unsound doc- 
trine ; there is good doctrine, and there is evil doc- 
trine ; there is doctrine according to godliness, and 
there is doctrine contrary to piety ; there is a word 
that nourishes men up in faith, and there is a word 
that doth eat as a canker. Christian doctrine is al- 
ways good, safe, edifying. 

We are bound to discriminate between Christian 
doctrine and all its opposites. The Word of God re- 
quires us to prove all things, and to hold fast that 
which is good ; to try the spirits, and not to believe 
every spirit ; to judge of religious teachers by their 
doctrines. This can be done. Many have done it. 
We can know the truth. " The doctrine of the 
Pharisees " and " the doctrine of the Sadducees " 
never did accord with the doctrine of Christ. " The 
doctrine of Balaam " and " the doctrine of the Nico- 
laitans " always were at war with truth and righteous- 
ness, always were abhorred by good men, and always 
did subvert those who lent a willing ear to them. 
Light and darkness are not more opposite than truth 
and error. Arsenic and flour look very much alike ; 



The Christian Doctrine. 19 

but one kills while the other nourishes. All are 
bound to distinguish between Christian doctrine and 
opposing errors. 

Christian doctrine is not the product of earth. 
Man is not its author. All saving truth is heaven- 
born. Christ so taught: " My doctrine is not Mine, 
but His that sent Me." The suffrage of all men 
can not transmute a lie or a fable into the truth. 
Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the 
Holy Ghost. If God says anything, it is true. If He 
says it not, it is either not true, or it concerns not 
our salvation. 

Christian doctrine must be known, loved, and em- 
braced. It is essential to right view r s of God's nature, 
government, and worship. Before one believes that 
he needs a Saviour, he must believe that he is a sin- 
ner. Men never reject the truth but from pride, or 
prejudice, or the want of right affections. The Script- 
ure warrants us in saying that men hold false doctrine 
because they have " not received the love of the 
truth," and that proves a vicious state of mind. All 
but bad men love the truth. 

Our salvation depends upon our receiving the 
Christian verity. " He that believeth not is con- 
demned already." " If ye believe not that I am He, 
ye shall die in your sins." " Sanctify them through 
Thy truth ; Thy word is truth." These are a few 
specimens of what God's Word says, to teach us how 
essential a hearty reception of the very doctrines of 
Scripture is to our securing eternal life. Error may 
lead to bigotry, blasphemy, or superstition, but never 
to holiness. 



20 The Christian. 

False doctrine dishonors God at every step. It 
defiles the conscience, corrupts the heart, blinds the 
mind, and makes vain our imaginations. On the 
other hand, truth is in order to godliness. When in- 
spired men would stir up God's people to courage, 
constancy, humility, benevolence, adoration, and 
holiness, they never present old wives' fables, but the 
great truths of Scripture. Nor are God's friends at 
liberty to hold back the truth that the rejection of 
some of the doctrines of God will bring utter ruin on 
the soul. To believe a lie in religion is a very alarm- 
ing symptom. " If an angel from heaven przach any 
other Gospel unto you than that which we have 
preached unto you, let him be accursed." — Gal. i. 8. 

We must not only hold the Christian doctrine, but 
we must hold it to the rejection of opposing errors. 
The Pharisees held considerable truth, but they made 
it all vain by their traditions. 

And we must hold the Christian doctrine at all 
cost and at all hazards. " Buy the truth, and sell it 
not." Myriads have laid down their lives for the 
testimony of Jesus ; and they acted wisely in so 
doing. By thus losing their lives, they made sure 
eternal life. It would not be difficult to show that 
all the truths of religion, and all the civil and relig- 
ious liberty on earth, are the fruit of the sufferings of 
men, who hazarded their lives for Christian doctrine. 



THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER— AN EX- 
AMPLE. 

The word character is often taken in the sense of 
reputation ; but when used more precisely, it refers to 
the principles and affections which control a man. It 
is the stamp on the mind, the impress on the 
heart, the sum of the effects produced on the soul by 
all the influences brought to bear upon it. 

There is such a thing as Christian character. Other- 
wise there is no difference between good men and bad 
men. Much as some wish such an opinion to prevail, 
it has no evidence to support it. Under sore trials 
good men have been sometimes tempted to adopt it, 
pronouncing all men deceivers ; but it has never been 
the settled judgment of any man. Every one has 
evidence to the contrary. Even infidels have con- 
fessed the difference between Christian servants and 
the profane in their employment. 

The epithets bestowed on men in the Word of God 
clearly show that there is a radical difference between 
them. Some are called wise, and others foolish ; 
some are just, and others unjust ; some are righteous, 
and others unrighteous ; some are godly, and others 
ungodly ; some are the friends of God, and others 
are His enemies; some are the servants of God, and 
others are the servants of sin ; some are the children 
of God, and others are the children of the Devil. 
Christians are strangers and pilgrims, and others are 



22 The Christian. 

men of the world. There is a radical difference be- 
tween men's characters. The Bible says so. All this 
is very reasonable, for — 

1. God's grace has done much more for some men 
than for others. See what a difference it made between 
Paul and Nero, both bloody persecutors ; between 
Zaccheus and the young ruler whom Jesus loved, 
both greedy worldlings ; between the two thieves on 
the Cross, both deserving death for their crimes. 
Every Christian has received of the Lord pardon for 
all his sins, acceptance in the Beloved, the blessing 
from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his 
salvation. He has also been renewed in the spirit of 
his mind by the power of the Holy Ghost. He has 
received a new heart. The law of God has been 
written upon his heart. He has been made a new 
creature. It would be monstrous for such a one to 
be, to live, and to act like one who had never been 
thus blessed. 

2. The Christian has seen more than the wicked. 
He has had his eyes opened to behold wondrous 
things out of God's law. Christ has been revealed 
in him, and to him. He has by faith seen Him, who 
is invisible. He has caught amazing glimpses of the 
glorious character of the incorruptible God. How 
can such a one be, live, or behave like the poor, 
blinded sinner, who can not see afar off? 

3. The Christian has heard more than the wicked. 
His ears have been circumcised. He has so heard 
that he has lived. Like Lazarus in the grave, he has 
heard the Son of God saying, " Come forth," and he 
has had strength to obey. He has heard the voice of 



Christian Character. 23 

Love saying, " He that believeth shall be saved." He 
has heard the tender calls of bleeding mercy. Surely 
such a man will be different from those who are 
strangers to such things. 

4. The Christian has felt more than the sinner. 
His heart has been circumcised. His soul has 
been filled with pleasure at things which the 
wicked care not for. Many a time his heart has 
burned within him at things which never moved the 
wicked. The Lord has opened his heart to attend 
unto the things which concern salvation. In his 
heart he thinks far differently from what he ever 
thought before. 

5. The Christian has sincerely and devoutly prom- 
ised to live unto God, and not unto himself. The 
vows of God are upon him. He has sworn that he 
would keep the statutes of the Lord. The man of 
the world has never heartily made any such engage- 
ments. Whatever promises he has made, if not 
grossly hypocritical, were at least without any gra- 
cious purpose to glorify God. Ease soon revokes 
vows made under terrors of conscience, the pangs of 
affliction, or the apprehension of death. It would be 
marvelous if the Christian, with all his good inten- 
tions, solemn vows, and settled purposes, had not a 
character quite decided and vastly different from that 
of the sinner. He may be slow to engage in some 
good things, but his hand once put to the plow, he 
looks not back. 

6. The Christian really and earnestly expects more 
and greater things than all the sinners in the world. 
They have transient and vain expectations, based on 



24 The Christian. 

their own self-righteousness, and on mistaken views 
of the character of God. But the Christian is war- 
ranted in every hope he indulges, built upon the 
Word of God. All his expectations are awakened 
by truth and the spirit of truth. None of his hopes 
shall perish. His supports in future conflicts and 
in the last struggle shall be greater than he had been 
able to think. The crown of life shall be more glori- 
ous than he ever anticipated. It therefore can not be 
otherwise than that he shall be a peculiar manner of 
person in all holy conversation and godliness, looking 
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God. He 
perfects holiness in the fear of God. He lives soberly, 
righteously, and godly in this present evil world. 
His character is different from that of all the enemies 
of God. The wicked take knowledge of him that he 
has been with Jesus. His brethren in the Lord are 
drawn to him. He lives before God. His very death 
is precious in the sight of the Lord. 

AN EXAMPLE IN REV. WM. PRESTON, D.D. 

About the beginning of this century there was born 
in Connecticut a child, which grew and waxed strong, 
and in due time reached a vigorous manhood. After 
careful preparation he was inducted into the sacred 
office. His ecclesiastical relations were with the 
Protestant Episcopal Church. He twice served the 
Master as pastor of the flock in Columbus, Ohio, and 
twice, and for a longer period, he labored in Pitts- 
burgh, Pa. In this latter field he spent in all about 
thirty of the best years of his life. Like many 



Christian Character. 25 

other people of God whom I have known, he left this 
world on Sabbath morning. It was the 25th of 
April. When the churches he had served, and the 
thousands of Israel were assembling in houses built 
with hands, he was for the first time joining in the hal- 
lelujahs of the temple on high. When Christian and 
Hopeful entered the heavenly city, Bunyan says: 
" Then I heard in my dream that all the bells in the 
city rang again for joy, and that it was said unto 
them, ' Enter ye into the joy of your Lord.' ,! 

The day of his death was the greatest Sabbath ever 
enjoyed by Dr. Preston. To all such as he the day 
of one's death is better than the day of one's birth. 
He entered this world with a cry as of distress. He 
entered heaven with a shout of " Salvation unto God 
and the Lamb." Here he had tears and sorrows, 
known to his Saviour and himself; but in the Church 
above he shall sorrow no more, for there the Lord 
God wipes away all tears from off all faces. 

Dr. Preston was a lovely man. He was naturally 
amiable, and grace had sweetened all his nature. Who 
ever heard him say a hard or harsh thing of a fellow- 
creature ? He loved God's people of every name. 
His soul was warmed with a charity that hoped and 
believed and endured all that good men are com- 
monly called to hope and believe and endure. Neither 
by nature, nor in principle, nor in practice was Dr. 
Preston a bigot. He abhorred those narrow views 
and feelings which believed moral excellence was 
found chiefly in his own denomination. Often did 
he walk to the house of God in company with breth- 
ren of other churches, and mingle his voice with theirs 



26 The Christian. 

in prayer and in praise. I have never heard more 
tender or evangelical extemporaneous prayers in large 
assemblies than I have heard from him, when he was 
the only Episcopalian perhaps in all the congregation. 

Dr. Preston greatly loved the doctrines of grace. 
He was a firm believer in those doctrines as taught 
by Paul, by Augustine, by Calvin, and by the best 
English reformers. On these subjects his trumpet 
gave no uncertain sound. His faith was grounded 
and settled. He never attempted nor pretended to 
make any new discoveries in theology. He took good 
heed to the Word of the Lord as given by the prophet 
Jeremiah, " Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask 
for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk 
therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." 

One truly says of him : " The ministers and Chris- 
tian people of this city, indeed the whole community, 
mourn the death of a devoted servant of Christ, a 
pastor of stainless reputation, and a warm-hearted 
gentleman and Christian friend." This witness is 
true. 

The friendship between Dr. Preston and myself 
was of more than twenty years' standing. I found 
him always as kind as a woman, as firm as a rock, as 
fearless as a lion, and as true as steel. We had often 
communed together of the things of the kingdom. 
I never heard from him a doubtful sentiment. I never 
knew him to quail under clamor. He was valiant for 
the truth. He hated every false way. " I am dis- 
tressed for thee, my brother ; very pleasant hast thou 
been unto me ; thy love to me was wonderful, passing 
the love of women." 



Christian Character. 27 

The death of such men as Dr. Preston has a real 
power in making us willing to die. The society of 
which he is now a member is composed of the elite of 
the universe. Every choice spirit that has passed 
away from earth belongs to that blessed company 
who worship before the throne in a world where the 
wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at 
rest. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S SIMPLICITY. 

In our English Bible and in common parlance, to 
be simple is often the same as to be stupid, silly, 
credulous, easily deceived by appearances. In this 
case it is the opposite of sagacious. Thus : " A pru- 
dent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself: but 
the simple pass on and are punished." — Prov. xxii. 3. 
" Ephraim is like a silly dove without heart " (Hos. 
vii. 11), describes a like character. It is a bad thing 
to be a natural fool. It is worse to be made a fool 
by vicious men and vicious inclinations. Such sim- 
plicity is never commended. This is the worst kind 
of simplicity, because it is both the fruit and the 
cause of wickedness. 

Sometimes a simple man is one who is weak, unin- 
structed, perhaps deceived, but honest, a seeker of 
truth. Thus to the great feast prepared by wisdom 
the invitation is sent forth : " Whoso is simple, let 
him turn in hither." — Prov. ix. 4. 

One of the words rendered simplicity often denotes 
health, soundness, freedom from disease. Thus a sin- 
gle eye is a good eye, giving clear vision. — Matt. vi. 
22 ; Luke xi. 34. The cognate noun is rendered sin- 
gleness of heart in Eph. vi. 5 and Col. iii. 22 y where 
it means soundness or integrity of heart. 

Again, simplicity is the opposite of penuriousness, 
stinginess, and so implies goodness, gentleness, liber- 



The Christian's Simplicity. 29 

ality. Thus, in Rom. xii. 8, " He that giveth [let him 
do it] with simplicity." In 2 Cor. viii. 2 the same 
word is rendered liberality, and in 2 Cor. ix. II, boun- 
tifulness. 

Lastly, to be simple is to be inoffensive, free from 
bad intention, inexpert in wickedness, harmless, as 
where Paul says, " I would have you wise unto that 
which is good, and simple concerning evil." — Rom. 
xvi. 19. The same word is used by our Lord when 
He says, " Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as 
doves ; " and by Paul, when he says, " Do all things 
without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be 
blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without re- 
buke." What is it, then, to be simple concerning 
evil ? It is something wholly consistent with be- 
ing wise unto that which is good. It is not natural 
foolishness. Yet to carnal men it often looks like 
folly, because it readily incurs natural evils rather 
than run into sinful ways. The arts of wicked men 
are not known to such. They are " so wise as not to 
be deceived, and yet so simple as not to be deceivers." 
In malice they are children, in understanding they are 
men. It is no credit to any good man to be an adept 
in the arts and chicanery of the deceitful world. It 
was by one of the ancients pronounced a reproach to 
a king or philosopher to dance well. So it is a shame 
for a Christian to be expert in the devices of carnal 
men for gaining influence and promoting selfish or 
base designs. 

The simplicity of the Gospel is near of kin to godly 
sincerity. — 2 Cor. i. 12. It abhors duplicity. It car- 
ries its heart in its hand. It has no crooked ways. 



30 The Christian. 

" It is fair, it is candid, it is honest, it is upright in all 
things." 

And it is as loving as it is fair. It bears no malice. 
Its tongue is not defiled with slander, nor its hands 
with wrong. Its steps are not stained with blood. It 
curses not, but it blesses largely. It is manly, not 
mean. It is humble, but not servile. It is bold, but not 
fierce. It devises liberal things, but loves to do good 
unseen. It is not boastful nor ostentatious, and yet it 
refuses not to do good for fear it should be found out. 

Call on one possessed of this excellent quality to 
deny himself, and nothing seems easier. Present to 
him the temptations which master most men and they 
seem powerless. Their chief effect is to drive him 
nearer to God, closer to the mercy-seat, quite into the 
bosom of the Good Shepherd. This quality is gra- 
cious. It should be cultivated. It may be much 
strengthened by prayer, by the Word of God, by 
practice, by hating every false way, by associating 
with men of pure minds and simple hearts. In noth- 
ing is example more potent than in learning lessons 
of simplicity. 

Because great attainments in this excellence are 
not often made, we ought the more earnestly to labor 
and pray for it. The more we are tempted to any 
course inconsistent with this simplicity, the more 
should we resist the devil, that he may flee from us. 

For a pattern we have One that excels all others — 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Often He declined to com- 
mit Himself to others, for He knew what was in man. 
But never did any put themselves in His power or 
under His control, but to be blessed thereby. When 



The Christians Simplicity, 31 

He gave, it was with all bountifulness. When He 
reproved, it was with all gentleness. When He in- 
vited, it was with superhuman kindness. His eye 
was single. His heart was single and sincere and lov- 
ing. His mind was pure and upright. Oh, be like 
Jesus Christ ! 



THE CHRISTIAN'S WAY. 

Every man has his way. Conduct is an index to 
character. Manners make the man. Behavior before 
God and man tells where one is going. 

The way of sinners is evil, is false, is hard, is 
wicked, is dangerous, is ruinous. It leads to hell. 
It leads nowhere else. In the end it will cause the 
bitterest lamentations ever heard. There is no mad- 
ness equal to that of sinning against God. 

But the Christian has his way too. Indeed, believ- 
ers are more than once called men of the way. In 
Acts ix. 2, we translate it " any of this way." But 
scholars know that it should be any of the way. So 
also in Acts xix. 9, it is said some "spake evil of that 
way." It means they spoke evil of the way, that is, 
the way of God, the way of good men. In the Old 
Testament the word way sometimes has the same 
general import. 

In an important sense Christ himself is the way of 
believers. So He teaches : " I am the way, and the 
truth, and the life ; no man cometh unto the Father 
but by Me." — John xiv. 6. The soul enters on its 
upward and glorious career through Christ alone. — 
John x. 1, 7. In the same manner it continues its 
heavenly course. As men have received Christ the 
Lord, so do they walk in Him. Paul's great wish 
was that he might be " found in Christ." The same 



The Christian's Way. 33 

is true of all who are clearly on their way to glory 
and honor. 

The Christian's way is the way of truth. Inspired 
men so call it — 2 Pet. ii. 2. It is the true way. There 
is no mistake in it. It deceives no one. It disap- 
points no one. It is not built on fables and fictions. 
It is built on truth, more lasting than the moun- 
tains. 

There is no foolishness in it. It is wise. It is 
often called the way of understanding. No man acts 
wisely till he walks in it. No man has any wisdom 
above this. To forsake this way is to choose death. 

The Christian's path is the way of righteousness. — 
2 Peter ii. 21. It is the way of justifying righteous- 
ness. Only thus is any man pardoned. Only thus is 
any man accepted as righteous. It is the way of per- 
sonal righteousness. It is the good and the right 
way. — 1 Sam. xii. 23. It is the way of holiness. So 
the evangelical prophet spoke of it : " An highway 
shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The 
way of holiness ; the unclean shall not pass over it ; 
but it shall be for those : the wayfaring men, though 
fools, 'shall not err therein." — Isa. xxxv. 8. 

No marvel, then, that the course of the Christian is 
called the way of God (Acts xviii. 26) ; and the way 
of the Lord. — Ps. xxvii. 11. It is the way God 
chooses, appoints, and loves. He honors it with His 
presence and His smiles. He who walks in it, walks 
with God. God is his friend, his guide, his shep- 
herd, his father, his exceeding joy. 

No wonder, then, that Zacharias, when filled with 
the Holy Ghost, called it the way of peace. — Luke i. 



34 The Christian. 

79. It brings peace to the heart and the conscience. 
It secures peace with God, and leads to peace with 
just men. It inspires pure and friendly sentiments 
to all. 

It is also the way of life, and of salvation. — Prov. 
vi. 23 ; xv. 24; Jer. xxi. 8 ; Acts xvi. 17. All who 
walk not in this way are dead in trespasses and in sins. 
They are out of the right way. They are stalking to 
ruin. But they who are in this way shall, in the high- 
est sense, live. They belong to Christ. Because He 
lives, they shall live also. They are even here deliv- 
ered from the curse and displeasure of God. In the 
best and highest sense of the term, they have salva- 
tion. 

This way is strait, narrow, difficult. — Matt. vii. 
14. Men can not walk in it carelessly. They can not 
carry with them their vices and lusts. They must 
learn and practice the laws of self-denial. They must 
not be restive. They must not rebel under powerful 
restraints. The righteous are scarcely saved. 

This way is also straight. It is not crooked. Sin 
is always tortuous. But a good man hates every 
false way. He is not double-tongued, nor double- 
minded. He means what he says, and he says what he 
means. He speaks the truth in his heart. He walks 
in uprightness. 

This is also a living way. — Heb. x. 20. It is not 
dead and dull ; but lively, and full of animation. It 
inspires the best hopes, on the most solid grounds. 

Though in a sense it is difficult, requiring the ut- 
most care and sobriety, yet it is pleasant. — Prov. iii. 
17. By Divine grace it is made easy. It is the way 



The Christian's Way. 35 

of transgressors that is hard. They are under cruel 
bondage. But the righteous serve a good Master. 
He carries the heavy end of every cross. His yoke 
is easy, and His burden light. 

The way of the Christian is often hidden. His re- 
sources are secret, and his motives are not seen. His 
heart is the best part of him. If he could have his 
way, he would be done with sin and temptation for- 
ever. Often obloquy, prejudice, poverty, or tribula- 
tion covers him, and he is like a dead man out of 
sight. Yet his way is not hidden from the Lord, nor 
his judgment passed over from his God. In due 
time Jehovah will bring forth His righteousness as 
the light, and His judgment as the noonday. 

This way is also plain. An honest heart under 
Divine teaching never misses it. God reveals its 
glorious mysteries to babes and sucklings. Simple 
folk with honest hearts are sure to find the truth. 

This is no new way. This path has been trodden 
by the saints of all ages. In it were found Abel, and 
Enoch, and Job, and Daniel, and Paul, and John, and 
all the martyrs and confessors. One of the sins and 
follies of every age, is an attempt to show, or to find 
some new way. But God reproves such a spirit. 
Hear Him : " Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the 
ways and ask for the old paths, where is the good 
way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your 
souls." — Jer. vi. 16. 

The way of the saints is one, and not many. No 
one need perplex himself on account of seeming 
diversities. For there are not many ways of salva- 
tion. In the very place where God promises one 



36 The Christian. 

heart to His people, He also promises them one way. 
— Jer. xxxii. 39. 

The whole way of the Christian is marked out in 
God's Word, and is called the way of His precepts, 
the way of His commandments, the way of His 
statutes, the way of His judgments. — Ps. cxix. 27, 32, 
33 ; Isa. xxvi. 8. Sad indeed is the case of those 
whose fear toward God is taught by the precepts of 
men. — Isa. xxix. 13. 

The way of the Christian often seems long, but let 
him not repine. Life's toils and sorrows will soon be 
over — over forever. 

The way of good men habitually increases in radi- 
ance. It shineth more and more unto the perfecf 
day. — Prov. iv. 18. The reason is, it is the only perfect 
way. — Ps. ci. 2. This is the course which the Psalmist 
calls the way everlasting. It shall not be broken up. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S TEMPTATIONS. 

The words tempt and temptation have in Scripture 
different meanings according to the connection in 
which they are found. 

1. When it is said God did tempt Abraham (Gen. 
xxii. i), the meaning is that God did try and prove 
Abraham. He has and He exercises His right thus 
to evince the real principles of His creatures. He 
subjected angels to probation. God does not thus 
seek to inform Himself, for He knows men perfectly ; 
but He thus shows to His people, and even to His 
foes, the power of holy principles in the heart. — Job i. 
8 ; I Pet. i. 6, 7. In Scripture, saints are called upon 
to count it all joy when they fall into such tempta- 
tions. — James i. 2, 3. God can and will carry His 
servants through such trials, and thus strengthen 
their good habits and principles. They shall come 
out as gold. — Job xxiii. 10. 

2. Men are said to tempt, try, or prove God when 
they unbelievingly call upon Him to manifest His 
presence, power, or kindness. This is a freak of 
wicked caprice. In this sense the Israelites tempted, 
proved, and provoked God in the desert. — Ex. xvii. 
2-7 ; Ps. xcv. 8, 9 ; Heb. iii. 9. When God is doing 
for us all we really need, we have no right to call 
upon Him to do more ; nor may we prescribe to Him 
when or how He shall deliver us. Men also tempt 



38 The Christian. 

God when they presume on a miraculous preserva- 
tion, and rush unbidden into dangers. — Matt. iv. 6, 7. 
They also tempt Him, that is, they unwarrantably 
prove Him, when, casting His cords asunder, they sin 
without stint, as if to see whether He will punish 
them or bring on them threatened evils. — Mai. iii. 15. 

3. Satan tempts men, and men tempt one another, 
by endeavoring to seduce them from truth, from 
right, from piety to error, pride, or wickedness. In 
this sense God tempts no man. — James i. 13. God 
abhors iniquity. He seduces no one, and is seduced 
by no one. 

4. Sometimes temptation means a successful seduc- 
tion. "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn 
away of his own lust, and enticed." — James i. 14. 
Thus men are tempted, when in them there is some- 
what congenial to the seduction, and they yield to it. 

In no sense are good men compelled to sin. God 
always provides a way of escape. That way may be 
through a burning fiery furnace, through a lion's den, 
through a shower of stones, through death itself; but 
it is still a way of escape. It is not wicked to die. 
In his design to prove Job a hypocrite, Satan was 
entirely baffled. In his attempt to bring to naught 
the work of redemption, he wholly failed. The Son 
of God was more than a match for him. The three 
great means of preserving us from falling under the 
power of any temptation are these : 

1. A deep sense of our own weakness. No part 
of the Lord's Prayer suits our case better than this : 
" Lead us not into temptation." The meaning is, Let 
us not be tried beyond our strength, and when tried, 



The Christian s Temptations. 39 

let us not fall into the snare of the wicked one. 
Blessed is the man that feareth always. Let him 
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 
Consider thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 

2. It is a great thing to have the Word of God 
ready for every occasion. In sophistry the enemy 
often exceeds our power of reasoning ; but the Word 
of God is too keen for him. When tempted, our 
Saviour did not moralize or philosophize on the mat- 
ter. He simply quoted Scripture, saying : " It is 
written, it is written, it is written." 

3. Watchfulness and prayer must be constantly 
used. I unite them because the Scripture unites 
them, and because, when genuine and holy, they are 
never separated. Our Lord said : " Watch and pray, 
that ye enter not into temptation." Compare Matt. 
xxvi. 41 ; Mark xiii. 33, xiv. 38 ; Col. iv. 2. 

The great deliverer from temptation is God him- 
self. — 2 Pet. ii. 9. The apostle says : " The Lord 
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of tempta- 
tions." This is as if he had said, God's resources are 
infinite. He is never at a loss for wisdom, love, or 
power. He has often and marvelously rescued His 
saints. He never fails when He undertakes their 
cause. 

To the tempted people of God the sympathy and 
intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ are held forth 
for their encouragement. " In that He himself hath 
suffered, being tempted, He is able to succor them 
that are tempted." "We have not an high-priest 
which can not be touched with the feeling of our in- 
firmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we 



40 The Christian, 

are, yet without sin." " Simon, Simon, behold, Satan 
hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as 
wheat ; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith 
fail not." No wonder the saints triumph. Their 
Lord triumphed before them. By Him they can do 
all things. He is mighty to save. 

Are these things so ? Then let us come boldly to 
the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and 
find grace to help in time of need. Let us be of good 
courage. Distrust is a great foe to peace and victory. 
Omnipotence never labors, and is never baffled. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S VICTORY OVER TEMP- 
TATIONS. 

It almost startles one to hear the apostle James 
saying, " My brethren, count it all joy [regard it as 
matter of very great joy] when ye fall into divers 

temptations Blessed is the man that endureth 

[patiently endures, with constancy bears up under] 
temptation." But when we search God's Word, we 
find the doctrine abundantly supported and illus- 
trated. 

Take the case of our Blessed Lord. He was long 
and sorely tempted of the devil — tempted as no man 
ever was. Yet see the happy consequences immedi- 
ately following : " Behold, angels came and ministered 
unto Him." While His temptation lasted, they stood 
at a distance to let it appear that Christ could con- 
quer by His own power and holiness. But when the 
battle was fought and the victory won, they rejoiced 
in such a Lord ; they brought Him food ; they com- 
forted Him, as they often strengthen and comfort His 
tempted people. If Satan was allowed to assail Him, 
angels were sent to congratulate Him, adore Him, and 
serve Him. Thus, He was prepared and encouraged 
to go boldly on in His great work of destroying the 
works of the devil and in setting up the kingdom of 
God. 

A like result is reached when the saints endure 
temptation. The trying of their faith worketh pa- 



42 The Christian. 

tience, constancy, heavenly heroism ; and patience 
worketh experience ; and experience hope ; and hope 
maketh not ashamed: because the love of God is 
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which 
is given unto us. So uniformly and so wonderfully 
does the Lord bless temptation to the edification of 
His people, that the great and good Luther said : 
" One Christian well tempted is worth a thousand." 
Another of his sayings was : " Three things make a 
good theologian — meditation, temptation, and 
prayer." 

Like testimonies have been borne by others. Fene- 
lon said : " Temptations, as a file, rub off much of the 
rust of our self-confidence." Dr. Samuel Clarke says : 
" Bearing up against temptations and prevailing over 
them, is the very thing wherein the whole life of re- 
ligion consists. It is the trial which God puts upon 
us in this world, by which we are to make evidence 
of our love and obedience to Him, and of our fitness 
to be made members of His kingdom." 

How ill-prepared would David have been for the 
conflicts of his riper years had he not fought with the 
lion and the bear and the giant of Gath when young ! 
Oh, it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his 
youth. It makes a man of him. " He sitteth alone 
and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon 
him. He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be 
there may be hope." All great characters are formed 
more or less in the school of trial — even sharp trial. 

The difference between Daniel going into Babylon 
and Daniel beholding the fall of the Chaldean mon- 
archy, was as great as could well be imagined. Hardly 



The Christians Victory over Temptations. 43 

any two pious men were less alike than were the young 
Israelite, and the old prophet pronouncing sentence 
of death on Lucifer (the son of the morning) when 
he was about to be cast down to hell. 

Compare the young Saul of Tarsus, crying, " Lord, 
what wilt Thou have me to do ? " with such an one as 
Paul the aged. How great the contrast ! What 
made the difference ? Chiefly his experience in trials 
and afflictions and temptations. 

The little child Moses in the rushes, and the old 
man Moses, with his eye undimmed and his natural 
force unabated at the age of one hundred and twenty 
years, were not so unlike in appearance of body as 
they were in strength and excellence of character. 

Everlasting bliss will bear a proportion to what 
men have endured for Christ and His cause on earth. 
Mordecai once wore a crown of gold ; and our Sav- 
iour once wore a crown of thorns ; but in the world 
to come, the saints shall wear different crowns. 
" Blessed is the man that endureth temptation ; for 
when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, 
which the Lord hath prepared for them that love 
Him." So spoke James. Paul says : " I am now 
ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is 
at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished 
my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there 
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." Peter 
says : " When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye 
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 
Oh, what a crowning that will be : life, righteousness, 
glory — all in one day — all for nothing — all by grace — ■ 
and all for eternity. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S VIEWS OF SIN. 

Moral evil is the worst of all evils. Nothing can 
compare with it. It is worse than the plague. It is 
unspeakably hateful. God calls sin horrible and 
abominable. Good men in every age lament it — 
lament it much in others, most in themselves. The 
worst thing that can be said of sin is, not that it digs 
every grave and wrings out every sigh and wail from 
earth and hell, but that it is " exceeding sinful." 

A man's views of sin give a complexion to all his 
character. If he regards it as a trifle, he will laugh at 
it, when he should weep over it. He will make a 
mock of it. He will dally with it. He will take his 
fill of it. He will have low thoughts of God, and 
mean estimates of salvation. He will despise Jesus 
Christ. 

If, on the other hand, he considers sin as very dread- 
ful and very hateful, he will hate every false way. 
He will long for holiness. He will hunger and thirst 
after righteousness. He will not walk in the counsel 
of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor 
sit in the seat of the scornful. He will loathe and 
abhor himself on account of sin. He will be filled 
with horror because of the wicked, who keep not 
God's law. He will have exalted thoughts of the 
being, perfections, word, and government of God. To 
him Christ will be most precious, the chiefest among 
ten thousand, and altogether lovely. 



The Christians Views of Sin. 45 

Some ask, How far does a sense of sin enter into 
a genuine religious experience ? To some extent, 
and in some minds, this is a vexed question. The 
difficulty may arise in part from the fact that some 
make all religious experience to refer to the earlier 
exercises of a new-born soul. But the truth is, that 
first religious views and feelings are but a small part 
of what the child of God practically learns. In all 
the three accounts of the conversion of Paul in the 
Acts of the Apostles, not a word is said of his sense 
of sin at that time in anything but in opposing 
Christ's cause. But the work of grace in his heart 
only then began. In Romans vii. 7-9, he tells us of 
subsequent experiences : " I had not known sin but 
by the law : for I had not known lust, except the law 
had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking oc- 
casion by the commandment, wrought in me all 
manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin 
was dead. For I was alive without the law once : 
but when the commandment came, sin revived, and 
I died." 

The meaning of the Apostle seems to be this : " I 
should never have understood the real nature of sin, 
the enormity of my guilt, or the number of my trans- 
gressions but for the Ten Commandments." If one 
would know the uncleanness of a neglected apart- 
ment, he must let in the light. Dr. Watts notices 
the growing sense of sin in Paul once saying, "I am 
not meet to be called an Apostle." Later in life he 
says, " I am less than the least of all saints." In one of 
his later epistles, he says, "I am the chief of sinners." 
Evidently he had to the last a growing sense of sin. 



46 The Christian. 

Sometimes when we speak of a sense of sin, men 
think we are speaking of great terror of conscience or 
horror of mind. These things may indeed accom- 
pany a sense of sin ; but they are wholly diverse 
from it, and are in nowise essential to it. Paul never 
had less terror than when he was near the end of his 
life, and had a very deep sense of sin. 

But such a sense of sin as makes the Gospel good 
news to the sinner, would seem to be required by 
many things in the Scriptures. Our Lord said, " They 
that are whole need not a physician, but they that 
are sick." One of the darkest signs in the state 
of the Church at Laodicea was that she said she 
was rich and increased with goods, and had need 
of nothing ; and knew not that she was wretched, 
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. — Rev. 
iii. 17. 

Job's sense of sin was vastly increased by the great 
discoveries he had of God's majesty and glory : " I 
have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear ; but 
now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor my- 
self, and repent in dust and ashes." Increased views 
of God's glory had the same effect on the son of 
Amoz, and made him cry out, " Woe is me ! for I am 
undone." — Job xlii. 5, 6 ; Isa. vi. 5. 

The deeper one's sense of sin is, the livelier is his 
gratitude for pardon and saving mercy. So taught 
our Lord : " Her sins, which are many, are forgiven ; 
for she loved much : but to whom little is forgiven, 
the same loveth little." — Luke vii. 47. 

In like manner the deeper one's sense of sin, the 
profounder will be his humility ; and humility is the 



The Christian s Views of Sin. 47 

Kings highway to holiness and happiness and heaven. 

If these things are so, then he is a good preacher, 
and that is a good book that increases our just sense 
of sin. One of the best books John Owen ever 
wrote was on " Indwelling Sin." It is well suited to 
show men the fountain of iniquity that is in their 
hearts. For the same reason we may safely com- 
mend Flavel's " Keeping the Heart," Guthrie's "Trial 
of a Saving Interest in Christ," " The Nonsuch Pro- 
fessor," by an old English Bishop, and many of the 
writings of the seventeenth century. 

But above all, " By the law is the knowledge of 
sin." Luther said that if for a day he failed to com- 
pare his heart with the Ten Commandments, he was 
sensible of a decline in his pious feelings. One of the 
best manuals of self-examination is the Westminster 
Assembly's exposition of the law of God. Let any 
serious man honestly read the answers there given to 
the question, What are the sins forbidden ? in each 
of the precepts ; and if he is not blind and stupid, his 
self-abhorrence must be increased. 

But any view of ourselves that leads us to despair, 
is injurious. The true and fair inference from a sense 
of sickness, is that one needs a physician. A proper 
sense of sin should lead us more and more to look to 
Jesus, and to pray that He of God may be made unto 
us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and 
redemption. Thanks be unto God for His unspeak- 
able gift. 

It is, therefore, common for Christians to admit 
that there is no little sin. It is easy for men to per- 
plex themselves, and talk foolishly concerning that 



48 The Christian. 

which is infinite. But to us all that is illimitable, im- 
measurable, fathomless, endless, may safely be styled 
infinite. Is sin, then, an infinite evil? 

If sin be not an infinite evil, it must be because 
God's majesty, glory, and authority are not infinite, 
for against these is all sin committed. 

If sin be not an infinite evil, it could not require an 
infinite atonement ; a limited satisfaction is all that 
could be fairly required for a finite offense ; a meas- 
urable compensation is all that can be justly de- 
manded for a crime that can be fully estimated. If 
sin be not an infinite evil, can it be proven to be any 
evil at all ? God has all claims, all rights, all sov- 
ereignty, or He has none at all. Our obligations to 
Him are boundless, interminable, infinite, or they, are 
not real. If He is such a One as we are, He is no 
God at all. The reason why false gods may and 
should be treated with contempt, is because they are 
vanities. They are matters of inspired ridicule. 

God's presence is infinite ; His power is infinite ; 
His nature is infinite ; His existence is infinite ; and so 
to sin against Him must be an infinite insult and wrong. 

If sin be not an infinite evil, we must yet admit 
that the punishment threatened against it is, in at 
least one sense, infinite — it is boundless in duration ; 
yea, it is shoreless, fathomless, and terrible as hell. 

More than once does God call sin " horrible." It 
is that abominable thing which He hates. It can not 
be shown that God hates toads, serpents, hyenas, or 
anything that He has made. But He hates sin with 
infinite loathing. 

It is bad when one can truly say of an act that it 



The Christian s Views of Sin. 49 

is unprofitable, dangerous, or mean ; but sin is the 
perfection of meanness ; it is more perilous than the 
flights of the aeronaut ; it is so unprofitable that 
when one commits it, he sows the wind to reap the 
whirlv/ind ; he loves death. 

God's Word acknowledges that sin is great, be- 
cause God is great. " If a man sin against his neigh- 
bor, the judge shall judge him ; but if a man sin 
against the Lord, who shall entreat for him?" 

Francis Spira said : " Man knoweth the beginnings 
of sin, but who can tell the bounds thereof?" 

" Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." 

" The wages of sin is death." 



THE CHRISTIAN'S BESETTING SINS. 

Sins are variously classified. First we speak of 
original sin and of actual sin. Then we speak of sins 
of omission and sins of commission, of secret sins, 
open sins, sins of infirmity, presumptuous sins, un- 
natural sins, and easily besetting sins. 

Sins are besetting from various causes. Some are 
constitutional. Many persons are irritable, choleric, 
addicted to levity or despondency from their natural 
temperament. Some sins prevail in the land where 
men live and so beset everybody. Thus, for hun- 
dreds of years — from the days of Epimenides to the 
time of Paul — the Cretans were terribly fierce, glut- 
tonous, and given to lying. Then sometimes a tidal 
wave of iniquity rolls over a people, and it seems as 
if all were beset with the same sins. An old prophet 
describes such a state of things when he says of his 
people : " The best of them is a brier — the most up- 
right is sharper than a thorn hedge." — Micah vii. 4. 

Other sins are besetting from education. Thus, 
gossiping is taught by example to whole families. 
The same is true of many sins of the tongue. Official 
station leads some to sins to which they were for- 
merly but little inclined. Office is apt to beget im- 
perious tempers. Many fall into sins from prejudices 
which were strong and unreasonable. I have known 
a man to commit more folly from a dislike to seeing 



The Christians Besetting Sins. 5 1 

apple-dumplings on a dinner-table than from any 
other cause. 

Besetting sins are many — as various as human char- 
acter and occupation. They gain strength by habit, 
just as do all the vices. Sometimes one person has 
several of them. Sins live in families. Seldom, if 
ever, is a sin found alone. 

How may we put away besetting sins ? — This is 
a very weighty question. It deserves the most se- 
rious attention. Without exhausting the subiect, the 
following suggestions are offered : 

1. Obtain and retain a deep and just sense of sin, 
as an evil and bitter thing, terribly offensive to God, 
very hateful in itself, and utterly ruinous to the soul. 
No man ever excessively hated or dreaded 'sin. The 
worst thing ever said of sin was, that it is " exceeding 
sinful." 

2. Learn what your besetting sins are. This will 
not be easily done. Yet it is possible to gain some 
clear knowledge of them. Sometimes your friends 
give you good hints. They say, perhaps very ten- 
derly, that it is a fault in your character that you are 
harsh, or severe, or vain, or proud, or worldly-minded. 
Are they not right ? Perhaps your enemies speak 
more plainly, and tell you in unpleasant tones that 
you are obstinate, self-conceited, covetous, unkind, or 
ungenerous. Is there any truth in what they say ? 
What does Nathan the prophet (your minister) say 
in preaching that touches your conscience ? What is 
it that comes up in such power when you are melan- 
choly, when you are in affliction ? What causes fail- 
ure in so many of your attempts to do good and get 
good ? 



52 The Christian. 

3. Remember that sin, like the serpent, dies hard. 
This is true of all sin, especially of a besetting sin. 
Therefore make a business of exterminating sin. It 
will kill you if you do not kill it. Your eternal well- 
being is at stake. Use every means in your power. 
Some sins go out only by fasting and prayer. Try 
those means. If your besetting sin is love of the 
world, see what you can do in mastering it by some 
noble secret act of almsgiving, or of contribution to 
the spread of the Gospel. If you are inclined to 
carry grudges, daily pray that the same mercies may 
descend on those you dislike as on yourself, and early 
embrace or create an opportunity to do them a serv- 
ice. Never shun the cross. If you find it lying in 
your way, take it up and bear it with constancy. 
" Despise not little sins ; they have ruined many a 
soul. Despise not little duties ; they have been to 
many a saved man an excellent discipline of humility. 
Despise not little temptations ; rightly met they have 
often nerved the character for some fiery trial. And 
despise not little crosses ; for when taken up and lov- 
ingly accepted at the Lord's hand, they have made 
men meet for a great crown, even the crown of righte- 
ousness and life, which the Lord hath promised to 
them that love Him." 

4. Put a high estimate on holiness. It is moral ex- 
cellence. It is very beautiful. It makes one to be 
like God. Nothing unholy will stand the test of per- 
fect holiness in the fear of God. This is the will of 
God concerning you, even your sanctification. " Be 
ye holy, for I am holy, saith the Lord." 

5. In subduing corruptions, some have found it 



The Christian's Besetting Sins. 53 

well to devote special attention for awhile to some 
one besetting sin. In some cases this may be well. 
But let us not forget that one sin always argues the 
presence of other sins, and that while we are watch- 
ing one thief, others may be close behind us. 

6. Watch against occasions of indulging in your 
besetting sin. If in narrations you are likely to ex- 
aggerate, or to adorn the story with a fabrication, 
then do not often or needlessly tell stories. If in 
trading you are apt to cry up what you have for sale, 
or to cry down what you buy, then make as few bar- 
gains and with as few words as possible. 

7. When you gain an advantage against a corrup- 
tion, follow it up. Sin dies not except under many 
lusty blows. And when you think it dead, it is per- 
haps only asleep. Do your work thoroughly. 

8. Seek the constant aid of the Holy Spirit. He 
searches all things. He hates iniquity. He loves all 
purity. His indwelling will do more than a guard of 
angels in driving out sin. He is the Spirit of holi- 
ness. He is its author. '" It is not by might, nor by 
power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." 

9. Think much of Christ. Highly prize His honor. 
Let His name be as ointment poured forth. Walk in 
Him, walk with Him, live unto Him, die for Him. 
Draw strength and motives from His teachings, His 
example, His death, His resurrection, His ascension 
to heaven, His sitting at God's right hand, and His 
everlasting kingdom. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S SENSE OF RESPONSI- 
BILITY. 

God is independent and sovereign. Man is de- 
pendent and responsible. Every sane man knows he 
must give account to God. Man's nature and rela- 
tions to God make it fit that he should act under 
moral law, and be judged accordingly. 

It is not possible for any man to entertain too 
solemn views of the fact that he must at last stand 
or fall, according to the deeds done in the body. 
Every man is every day doing things which will 
affect his destiny to all eternity. 

Man has immortal rationality, and of course he 
will ever be responsible. Suffering will not end it. 
Happiness will not destroy it. In God's government 
there is no statute of limitation. Nor has man or 
angel the power of returning to non-existence. Some 
have denied that responsibility will be endless. 

But if responsibility be not everlasting, then the 
relations of God and man may cease or change. 
They can not cease, because God can not deny Him- 
self. They can not cease, because whether man shall 
be under law is not a question submitted to his 
choice or decision. 

Neither can the relations of God and man change. 
A change must be for the better or for the worse. 
If they could change for the better, they would not 
now be perfectly right and holy. If they should 



The Christian s Sense of Responsibility. 55 

change for the worse, they would cease to be per- 
fectly right and holy. 

If responsibility be not everlasting, then an intel- 
ligent creature may sin away his obligations and ac- 
countability. 

If responsibility be not everlasting, then sin works 
its own cure, at least so far as not to be any longer 
punishable. It loses its guilt by its enormity or 
inveteracy. 

If responsibility be not everlasting, then there is a 
world or a state where God may be insulted with 
impunity. If this is so, retribution in any case is 
wholly arbitrary, and is not required by righteous- 
ness. 

If retribution be not everlasting, then sin is either 
an evil which in the long run becomes unmanageable, 
and God at length connives at it, because He does 
not know how to deal with old transgressors ; or else 
the evil now declared to belong to unrighteousness is 
an exaggeration, and who will dare to say that ? 

If responsibility be not everlasting, then it will not 
be so bad to offer insults to God in some other 
worlds or states as it is in this world, or in the 
present state. 

If responsibility be not everlasting, it must be that 
God's moral government shall by and by be impaired 
or fail in some respects. 

If responsibility be not everlasting, then by parity 
of reasoning the fact that one lie is justly punishable 
does not show that many lies shall be punished. 

If responsibility be not everlasting, then righteous- 
ness may cease to be righteousness, both in the Judge 



$6 The Christian. 

of all the earth and in some of His creatures, espe- 
cially those who offend atrociously. 

There is no such thing as a creature being rounded 
out in good or evil in any sense that renders further 
growth impossible. Where is there any ground for 
such belief? It is not found in God's Word. Give 
us chapter and verse. They can not be found. The 
reverse is taught in the oracles of God : '* They pro- 
ceed from evil to evil : " " Evil men and seducers 
shall wax worse and worse." 

When the Scriptures speak of our being held ac- 
countable for the deeds done in the body, they warn 
us that our responsibility is begun in this life. We 
are now acting under law. We are now under moral 
government. So that it is a solemn thing to live. 
But God's Word nowhere says or hints that our 
obligations to God, or our accountability to Him, 
will terminate when we leave this world and pass to 
another. Is not moral government in its very nature 
universal and endless, because it is righteous, and 
because God changes not? His kingdom is an ever- 
lasting kingdom, and His dominion is without end. 
Is not this sound speech that can not be condemned ? 
Let God be glorified ; let man be abased. 






THE CHRISTIAN'S FAITH. 

The Word of God says : " Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." That seems 
to be a very simple way — this way of faith in the 
Redeemer. It well suits my case. I am foolish and 
ignorant ; Christ is the wisdom of God. I am very 
sinful and guilty ; Christ is the Lord our Righteous- 
ness. He is the end of the law for righteousness to 
every one that believeth. I am very weak ; I am 
without strength ; Christ is the power of God unto 
salvation. I have no cloak for my sin. But the merits 
of Christ are the linen white and clean with which 
my poor soul may be beauteously arrayed. My tears 
can not wash away my sins ; but the blood of Jesus 
Christ cleanseth from all sin. In Him sinners boast 
the possession of greater blessings than angels have — 
even redeeming love and redeeming grace. 

And then I am not required to bring any price in 
my hand. By the Gospel, salvation is without money 
and without price. It is well for me that I am not 
required to pay for salvation. If I were, I should be 
forever lost. I am a poor sinner — as poor as my sins 
can make me. I have nothing to commend me to a 
just and holy God. I deserve all the evil He has de- 
nounced against me. I am guilty. I am all un- 
worthiness; but Jesus is worthy. I rely on Jesus. 
I take Jesus for my Saviour. He is all my desire and 



58 The Christian. 

all my salvation. He has borne all the curse. He 
has died, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the 
guilty. He is the Lamb of God that taketh away 
the sin of the world. By His stripes we are healed. 

One said : " I am no scholar, sir ; I have taught my- 
self the last fifteen years, and now I can read a good 
bit of the Bible ; but I can't make out all the big 
words, you know, sir. Ah ! sir, that word ' believe] 
that is a great word with me : it is everything to 
me ; and, as far as I can make out, there is no other 
way of getting to Jesus. He says : ' Come unto Me ;' 
and, thank God, I am very happy in coming to Him, 
by believing on Him." 

Oh, yes ! no one can rely on Christ too much. He 
bids us do that great work — that work of God — be- 
lieving on the Lord Jesus. To believe on Him with 
the heart is always unto righteousness. It is to look 
unto Him. It is to come unto Him. It is to receive 
Him to all the ends and purposes of a complete sal- 
vation. It is to reject all other plans and accept the 
Gospel plan. It is to refuse all other physicians and 
accept the one great Physician. 

Nor is there any danger of being rejected if we 
come to Christ. He says so : " Him that cometh un- 
to Me, I will in nowise cast out." Ever since men 
began in faith to call upon Him, He has never spurned 
any from His presence. The penitent thief, the 
trembling jailer, and millions on millions have looked 
to Him and were saved. In all the annals of time 
can be found no record of a sinner believing with the 
heart, and then perishing in his sins. 

Moreover, Christ's atonement is enough. He has 



The Christian s Faith. 59 

satisfied. He has done enough. He has suffered 
enough. He has shed enough blood. His undertak- 
ing is a glorious undertaking ; and it will appear more 
and more glorious to all eternity. His merits are 
all-sufficient. 

" If all the sin that men have done 

In will, in word, in thought, in deed, 

Since worlds were made, and time begun, 
Were laid on one poor sinner's head ; 

The blood of Jesus Christ alone 

Could for this mass of sin atone, 
And sweep it all away." 

Who dare say there is any limit to the sufficiency 
of Christ's atonement ? I have never seen nor heard 
of any good man attempting so presumptuous a sin. 

Then the door is so open : " Behold, I have set be- 
fore thee an open door." And every needed prepara- 
tion is made : " Behold, all things are ready." And 
the Lord is in such earnest: "As I live, saith the 
Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; 
but [I have pleasure] that the wicked turn from 
his way and live ; turn ye, turn ye from your evil 
ways ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel ? " 
And I am in such need of help, of just such help 
as is offered me in Christ Jesus. " Look unto Me 3 
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth : for I 
am God, and there is none else." Of God, Jesus 
is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and redemption. He is all and in all. 
It is only by faith in Christ that we enter into rest— 
a blessed rest, that shall last forever. 



5o The Christian. 

" Rest, weary soul ; 
The penalty is borne, the ransom paid, 
For all thy sins full satisfaction made. 
Strive not thyself to do what Christ has done. 
Take the free gift, and make the joy thine own. 
No more by pangs of guilt and fear distressed, 
Rest, sweetly rest." 

Such is the faith of the weak believer; such is the 
faith of the strong believer. Its essence is reliance 
on the person and work of the Redeemer. 

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved. 



WHY DO I REST CONFIDENTLY IN 
CHRIST? 

This question has been sent me by a friend. I will- 
ingly answer it. I begin by saying that if we repose 
any confidence in Christ at all, the more firmly we do 
it, the better. Weak faith may be both genuine and 
saving ; but the stronger our faith is, the more is God 
glorified, and the greater is our peace. 

Boasting in an arm of flesh, or relying on an arm 
of flesh, is very foolish. But we never act so wisely 
as when we make our boast in the Lord. To glory 
in the Cross of Christ is lawful, yea, praiseworthy. A 
strong confidence in the Son of God removes moun- 
tains of sorrow and difficulty. Faith can not be too 
strong. Confidence becomes presumption only when 
it is not warranted by Scripture. The more fully and 
unhesitatingly I credit every word that God has 
spoken, the more do I act in accordance with sound 
wisdom. Here are some reasons: 

I. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He counted it 
not robbery to be equal with God. He is over all, 
God blessed forever. All the fullness of the God- 
head dwells in Him bodily. He is the true God and 
eternal life. He has all the perfections of Jehovah. 
He knows all my wants and weakness, all my sin and 
misery. He knows the malice of my enemies, and 
the foolishness of my heart. He is of power to sub- 
due my whole nature to Himself, and to defeat the 



62 The Christian. 

wiles and machinations of my foes. His grace is all- 
sufficient. His love is infinite. His wisdom can not 
be defeated, nor His power resisted. He is God. I 
can not trust Him excessively. I rest confidently in 
Him because He is God, and is fitly adored in heaven 
and on earth. 

2. I rest confidently in Christ because He is man. 
He has my whole nature, sin only excepted. He has 
the heart of a brother. He has a feeling of my in- 
firmity. He was tempted in all points as I am, yet 
without sin. He drank the cup of sorrow to the 
dregs. He tasted the bitterness of death. He knows 
what it is to be rejected of men and deserted by 
God. I have no sorrow to which He is a stranger. 
He sympathizes with me in all my innocent joys 
and tastes, as well as in my sufferings and tempta- 
tions. 

3. I rest confidently in Christ because God the 
Father approves Him and trusts Him. He prepared 
Him a body. He gloriously anointed Him, and set 
Him apart to His work. Twice by an audible voice 
He declared : " This is My beloved Son, in whom I am 
well pleased." He stood by Him in all His under- 
taking. He raised Him from the dead. He set 
Him at His own right hand. He has committed all 
judgment to His Son. He is the delight of His 
Father. It can not but be safe and wise in me to 
rest in Him, in whom His Father confides. 

4. I rest confidently in Christ because He has never 
failed to save and succor any and every one that has 
fled to Him for salvation. Of all who have come 
short of the heavenly rest, not one put his trust in 



Why do I Rest Confidently in Christ ? 63 

the Lord Jesus Christ. The men who tire and faint 
and turn away from the holy commandment, never 
saw the real glory that is in Christ Jesus. To them 
He never was the chiefest among ten thousand, and 
altogether lovely. They may have said that all their 
desire and all their, hope were in Christ, but they 
were deceived. Hear the beloved disciple on such 
persons : " They went out from us, but they were not 
of us ; for if they had been of us, they would no 
doubt have continued with us ; but they went out, 
that they might be made manifest that they were not 
all of us." — 1 John ii. 19. 

5. I rest confidently in Christ because He has given 
me every assurance that I can desire. By word and 
by deed, by signs and sacraments, by His painful 
death, and by His present glorious life, I am per- 
suaded that He will do all that is for the good of 
His believing people. Hear Him : " Because I live, 
yc shall live also." — John xiv. 19. Hear Paul: "He 
that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up 
for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give 
us all things?" — Rom. viii. 32. The promises are 
great and precious, and almost countless. I know no 
man who has ever numbered them. And in Christ 
Jesus they are all Yea, and in Him, Amen. Nor are 
they burdened with impracticable conditions. To 
every humble soul He says : " I will never leave thee, 
nor forsake thee." 

6. I rest confidently in Christ because I have had 
a blessed experience of His grace and compassion. 
Once I was a poor lost sinner, ready to perish. My 
guilt was fearful. He passed by and said, " Live, for 



64 The Christian. 

I have ransomed thee." I found pardon and ac- 
ceptance in His blood and righteousness. I was all 
defiled, and had an evil heart of unbelief. He took 
away the heart of stone, and gave me a heart of flesh. 
I was blind. I saw no beauty in holiness or in Jesus 
Christ. He anointed my eyes, and I saw His glory, 
full of grace and truth. I once was afraid of the 
Almighty, but Christ has given me His spirit, so that 
I cry, Abba, Father. I once loved sin, some forms 
of it very much ; but by His grace I hate vain 
thoughts and every false way. I abhor that which is 
evil. Left to myself I was weak as water. I had no 
might to do good. But by His grace I can do all 
things, because He strengthens me. My experience 
surprises me and delights me. 

7. I rest confidently in Christ Jesus because He 
could not reject any that came to Him without re- 
fusing the only reward ever promised Him for all His 
work and sufferings. That reward was seeing poor 
lost sinners returning from their sins and wanderings 
to the Great Shepherd and Bishop of souls. The 
Scripture clearly teaches that Christ's reward should 
be that " He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His 
days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in 
His hands ; " that " the ransomed of the Lord shall 
return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting 
joy upon their heads ; " and that for all His suffer- 
ings God " will divide Him a portion with the great, 
and He shall divide the spoil with the strong." 
Surely I ought to be ready to rely on a Redeemer 
who has done and suffered all required of Him for 
my salvation. Having loved His own, He loved 



Why do I Rest Confidently in Christ f 65 

them to the end. Will He now cast away the souls 
He has bought at so great a price ? I trow not. 

8. I rest confidently in Christ, because He is King 
on the holy hill of Zion, wields a sceptre of righteous- 
ness, has many crowns upon His head, is actually 
subduing all His enemies, and is Lord of all to the 
glory of God the Father; because He is still the 
Great Prophet, and the way of life, saying: "Learn 
of Me, for I am meek and lowly ; " and because He 
is my Great High-Priest, who ever liveth to make 
intercession for me. Him the Father heareth alway. 
And so He is able to save them to the uttermost 
that come unto God by Him. 

For these and many similar reasons I rest con- 
fidently in Christ. Nor shall I be disappointed. I 
look to Him alone. Angels can not save me. My 
brother can not pay to God a ransom for me. I can 
not save myself. To whom can I go but to Jesus 
only? He has the words of eternal life. I will rest 
in Him only. I will rest in Him confidently and for- 
ever, and in Him my rest shall be glorious. 

Of course such a one wholly renounces self- 
righteousness. 

I was riding across the State of New Jersey on the 
old Camden and Amboy Railroad. Just before reach- 
ing the eastern terminus we were detained some 
minutes on a part of the route where the land is very 
sterile. I had no friend with me. Most of the pas- 
sengers seemed to be without companions. Various 
remarks were made as if for the ears of all. At length 
one gentleman, looking out on the white sands, said, 
"How is this land like self-righteousness?" Some 



66 The Christian. 

one replied, " Because the more of it one has, the 
poorer he is." I thought the conundrum good and 
the answer excellent. The more self-righteousness 
one has, the poorer he is. 

It strikes me as true that the poorer one is in moral 
good, the more self-righteousness he has. In other 
words, the farther one goes in sin, the harder it is to 
lead him to a right view of his sins. For more than 
fifty years I have, as I had opportunity, visited pris- 
ons, and conversed freely with their inmates. I have 
attended several unhappy men to their public execu- 
tion. In all this time I have never heard one frank 
and full confession of crime. One man admitted that 
he had killed his wife ; but he seemed to excuse him- 
self by saying that he was drunk when he did it. I 
have never seen a convict who admitted the fairness 
of his trial, the veracity of the witnesses, and the im- 
partiality of the judge. This is an amazing record. 
I am greatly surprised at it. Like the lawyer men- 
tioned in Luke x. 29, every one was " willing to jus- 
tify himself." 

How is this ? It may be safely answered that 
crimes against both person and property terribly 
harden the heart. But it is also true that the more 
men sin, the less sense of sin have they, unless God's 
Spirit very much quickens the conscience. The more 
men sin, the blinder they are. The farther a man 
goes into a dark cave, the more dim are his percep- 
tions. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S HOPE. 

Hope thou in God. — Why should I not ? I need 
just such a friend. He has all power and strength, 
and I am very weak. I can not even think a good 
thought of myself. Nor do I know how to pray as I 
ought. If the Lord does not help my infirmities, I 
shall do nothing aright. But I can do all things if 
He will gird me with strength. I will hope in God. 

He has, too, all the knowledge to understand my 
whole case, and all the wisdom necessary to direct 
everything concerning me. He makes no mistakes. 
He is never deceived. He is never overreached. He 
knows all things. He knows my weaknesses. He 
knows my sorrows. He knows my sincerity. And 
He is so wise that He takes the cunning in their own 
craftiness. His wisdom never fails. It is never non- 
plussed. I will hope in God. 

Then He has as much mercy and kindness as I 
need. His loving-kindness is so great that human 
belief has never seen to the top or the bottom, to the 
length or the breadth of it. The ocean of the Divine 
love is boundless and inexhaustible. God's love is 
strong. It passes the love of women. It is infinite. 
It produces the most amazing results. It fills all pious 
hearts with joy. It fills heaven with hallelujahs. Oh, 
I will hope in God. 

Nor could I desire more truth and faithfulness than 



6$ . The Christian. 

are found in God. They are unchangeable and im- 
measurable. They reach unto the clouds, yea, above 
the heavens. They are unto all generations. God is 
not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man 
that He should repent. Hath He said, and shall He 
not do it? He has never broken covenant with any 
of His creatures. His mercies are rich and free. 
That is a blessed truth, but it would be powerless if 
we could not also say that His mercies are sure. Oh, 
I must and will hope in God. 

If I hope not in God, I will be apt to look to my- 
self, and I am a fool and a sinner, a worm and blind, 
crushed before the moth, and unworthy of the very 
least of God's mercies. Who has at any time trusted 
in himself that he was righteous, or wise, or strong, 
and has not come to shame ? I dare not lean to my 
own understanding, nor rely on my own wisdom, nor 
put any hope in my own righteousness. Lord God 
of hosts, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, give me grace 
to hope in Thee. 

Nor dare I look to any man for help. All bad men 
are fools and sinners ; all good men have said that 
they are not worthy of any weighty trust. The best 
of them cry out, " I am undone," " I am a sinful 
man," " Oh, wretched man that I am." I dare not 
look to such for any effectual aid. I must hope in 
God. 

Nor dare I make angels the objects of my hope. 
They have no wisdom, goodness, or power, except 
what they derive from the Lord. Left to themselves, 
they would utterly fail. They are not clean in God's 
sight, and He charges them with folly. As God's 



The Christians Hope. 69 

servants they may minister to me, and by His powet 
and at His command help me. But it is of the Lord's 
mercies, not of the mercies of angels, that we are 
saved. I can not worship angels. I hope in God. 

I would hope confidently. My heart is in this 
matter. I would not falter here. I am ashamed that 
I am so slow to cast my anchor here and nowhere 
else. I will set my hope in God. 

Hoping in God I shall never be disappointed. All 
will come out right in the end. Mercies may be long 
delayed, but they will come at the very nick of time, 
the very best time, the time chosen by infinite wisdom 
and goodness. Look at the generations of old and 
see if any did ever trust in the Lord and were disap- 
pointed. All the saints in glory are unanimous in 
saying that God fulfilled to them all the engagements 
He ever made. I will hope in His truth, His mercy, 
and His power. 

Nor is it presumptuous in me to hope in God. He 
has bidden me to do it. It is always safe and right 
to obey the will of the Lord and to hearken to His 
commands. This is in itself a very pleasant duty en- 
joined on me. If I were bidden to despair of help 
from God, the very thought of such a thing would 
freeze my soul with horror. I may lawfully come to 
God with boldness. I may come even to His mercy- 
seat. I may fill my mouth with arguments. I may 
call Him my God, my Father, my Shepherd, my 
Rock, my Friend, my Portion, my exceeding Joy, my 
everlasting All. Oh, I will hope in God, if He will 
but help me to do so. 



70 



The Christian. 

HOPE ON, HOPE EVER. 
" God moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perform ; 
He plants His footsteps in the sea, 
And rides upon the storm. 

" Deep in unfathomable mines 
Of never-failing skill, 
He treasures up His bright designs, 
And works His sovereign will. 

» Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take : 
The clouds ye so much dread 
Are big with mercy, and shall break 
In blessings on your head. 

" Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
But trust Him for His grace : 
Behind a frowning providence 
He hides a smiling face. 

" His purposes will ripen fast 
Unfolding every hour; 
The bud may have a bitter taste, 
But sweet will be the flower. 

" Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
And scan His works in vain ; 
God is His own interpreter, 
And He will make it plain." 



In religious literature, both inspired and uninspired, 
we find much concerning hope. Let us consider a 
few specimens of the former class. 

« Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath 



The Christian s Hope. 71 

begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus Christ from the dead." — Peter. 

" Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and 
peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, 
through the power of the Holy Ghost." — Paul. 

" It is good that a man should both hope and 
quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." — Jere- 
miah. 

" Remember the word unto thy servant, upon 
which thou hast caused me to hope. Lord, what 
wait I for? My hope is in thee. I have hoped for 
thy salvation and done thy commandments." — David. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S TRUST. 

In his darkest days, Job said : "Though he slay mc, 
y t will I trust him." That was a noble purpose, a 
blessed resolution. 

1. It was called for. There was need of it. Job's 
circumstances were trying, and demanded that he 
should take his stand firmly on right ground. It 
met his case exactly. He knew not what might 
come ; but come what might, he would cleave to the 
Lord. 

2. It was prompt. In it was nothing dilatory. He 
did not require time and argument to work him up 
to the good purpose. He uttered it as soon as it was 
called for. He delayed not, but made haste to flee 
to God. 

3. He had doubtless often said as much before. It 
is of the very nature of piety to cleave to the Lord 
with purpose of heart. As one said at a later day, 
" Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words 
of eternal life." There is no piety without hearty 
confidence in God. 

4. It was unfeigned. Job meant what he said ; and 
he said what he meant. He was sincere. No hypo- 
crite under like circumstances would have used such 
language, but would have given up in despair — would 
have cursed (or renounced) God and died. 

5. It was a wise resolution. We never act so fool- 



The Christian s Trust. 73 

ishly as when we withdraw our confidence from God. 
" The fearful " are in Scripture said to have their por- 
tion with " the abominable, and murderers, and all 
liars." — Rev. xxi. 8. The reason why men do not 
trust God is because they are wicked. They do not 
know Him, nor love Him. They hate Him. We 
never act so wisely as when we cast our burden on 
the Lord. 

6. It is true the man of Uz acted strangely. God's 
people are a peculiar people. They are not of this 
world. They savor the things that are of God and 
not of men. They are born from above. They are 
taught of God. There was something quite unusual 
in Job's conduct. Not many of his contemporaries, 
nor many of any past age, have imitated Job. It is 
not commonly regarded as wise to risk life and all 
things on one's religious faith — one's faith in God. 

7. So Job's purpose must have been gracious. By 
the grace of God he said what he did. In himself 
Job was as weak as other men. He abhorred himself 
and repented in dust and ashes. But the Lord was 
with him and enabled him to witness a good confes- 
sion. He had help from heaven. It was not by 
might, nor by power, but by God's Spirit that he 
chose his ground. 

8. His resolution was kept. From it he never 
swerved. Though he said some things that did not 
become him, yet he never drew back from God. The 
best resolutions, if broken, are good for nothing. To 
the last Job denied the charge of a base hypocrisy. 
To the last he stuck to the Lord his God. 

9. His purpose and action on it turned out well. 



74 The Christian, 

The Lord approved in the main Job's conduct. He 
said to his three friends : " Ye have not spoken of Me 
the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath." 
" The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than 
his beginning." He did not trust in vain. All ended 
well. " Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and 
have seen the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very 
pitiful and of tender mercy." 

io. The darker our way, the more we should trust. 
God does sometimes slay His people. He kills and 
He makes alive. He has the keys of death and of 
hell. Job thought the Lord would probably cut him 
off with pining sickness. But yet he could not and 
would not forsake the Rock of his salvation. 

Reader, will you follow Job's example ? You can 
not do better. To go backward from the Almighty 
is ruin. To distrust Him is excessive folly. There 
is not one virtuous feeling involved in departing from 
the living God. To renounce Jehovah is death. If 
you trust Him, let no other trust intrude. Renounce 
all else. Some make gold their confidence ; some 
trust in chariots and some in horses ; some in bows 
and some in swords ; some in native powers and some 
in acquirements. But wise and good men trust only 
in the Lord their God. — Job xxxi. 24; Ps. xx. 7 ; Ps. 
xliv. 6; Isa. xl. 30, 31. 

And all should trust in the Lord, even the sucking 
child, the widow, the fatherless, the friendless, and 
the man that is ready to perish. — Ps. xxii. 9; Jer. 
xlix. 11 ; Ps. lxv. 5 ; 1 .Tim. iv. 10. 

The benefits of such trust are many. 

a. This is the only way to great spiritual prosper- 



The Christians Trust. 75 

ity. " He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be 
made fat." — Prov. xxviii. 25. Compare Ps. xxxi. 19. 

b. This is the great cure of that fear which brings 
the soul into bondage. " Behold, God is my salva- 
tion ; I will trust and not be afraid." — Isa. xii. 2. 
Compare Isa. 1. 10. 

c. If we trust not in the Lord, we can not expect 
any fixedness of joy or stability of character. " They 
that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which 
can not be removed, but abideth forever." " The heart 
of the upright is fixed, trusting in the Lord." — Ps. 
cxxv. I ; cxii. 7. 

d. Safety is found in no other way than in pious 
confidence. " He is a buckler to all those that trust 
in Him ; " " Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall 
be safe." — Ps. xviii. 30; Prov. xxix. 25. Compare 
Dan. iii. 28. 

e. Our usefulness and comfort depend on our con- 
fidence in Jehovah. " Trust in the Lord and do good ; 
so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt 
be fed." — Ps. xxxvii. 3. 

f. Trust in God is the great solace of old age. So 
the Psalmist found it. " Thou art my hope, O Lord 

God ; Thou art my trust from my youth Now 

also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake 
me not." — Ps. lxxi. 5, 18. 

Oh, " it is better to trust in the Lord than to put 
confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord 
than to put confidence in princes." When will men 
so learn and so practice? 



A CHRISTIAN'S GOOD RESOLUTIONS. 

" The road to hell is paved with good resolutions ' 
I know no': who first uttered this alarming sentence. 
But it contains a fearful truth. Vast numbers of 
men go to an undone eternity, who not only never 
had any purpose of so doing, but they actually pur- 
posed the contrary. Yet their good resolutions 
failed. They were not as solemn as they ought to 
have been. They were also made in human strength. 
The poor sinner, who made them, did not know that 
he had a deceitful heart, a wicked world, and a great 
adversary to contend with. He did not know that he 
had in himself no might to do good, that he was not 
sufficient as of himself to think anything, and that he 
could not even pray aright, except as the Holy Spirit 
enabled him. Thus his resolutions were not humble, 
nor did they make lowly him who made them. On 
the contrary, they filled his mind and heart with folly 
and vanity. He foolishly supposed that he was better 
for having made them. Consequently he broke them. 
The road to hell is paved with good resolutions that 
are broken, not kept. 

The road to heaven is paved with good resolutions, 
with fixed purposes, and holy determinations of 
mind, formed under a deep sense of weakness and 
unworthiness, with a pious confidence in the prom- 
ised aid of Divine grace, and with a holy fear and 



The Christians Good Resolutions. 77 

jealousy over one's own heart. I can remember when 
it was boldly and unwisely proclaimed that regenera- 
tion was nothing but a change of the governing pur- 
pose. This was a great practical error. It rilled 
many churches with unworthy members. It begat a 
very superficial class of professors. Very few are 
found maintaining this position in our day. In op- 
posing this error, some, perhaps, used unguarded 
expressions, making the impression that piety grew 
and flourished without any fixed purposes in the 
heart. This was as dangerous as the error it op- 
posed. Where or when did ever a wise man under- 
take or accomplish any great or good work without a 
settled and deliberate purpose to do so? Whoever 
would become a scholar, make a crop, or build a 
house, will naturally first form and fix his plan, and 
then carry it out. Life without a purpose is vague 
and vain. Aim at something and then do your best 
to accomplish it. Look at a few things in the Scrip- 
ture. 

"And Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his 
brother's son, and all their substance that they had 
gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in 
Haran ; and they went forth to go into the land 
of Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan they 
came." If you do not go forth to do a thing, you 
will hardly do it. Set a practicable object before 
you, and by God's blessing you may accomplish it. 
Hear the prodigal : " I will arise and go to my father, 
and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against 
heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to 
be called thy son ; make me as one of thy hired 



yS The Christian. 

servants." This resolution was the result of sad ex- 
perience and sound reflection. It was humble. It 
was honest, for it is added, " And he arose and came 
to his father." If he had remained much longer in 
that land of famine, he would have perished. It is 
not according to wisdom to do anything without pur- 
posing to do it. 

Read the writings of David, and see how often and 
how solemnly he resolves to love, and pray, and 
praise, and obey the Lord. Could he have been so 
eminent a servant of the Lord, if he had not been so 
fully purposed in his mind ? So far as reason and 
Scripture speak on this subject, they distinctly re- 
quire — 

1. That our good resolutions be not hastily or hur- 
riedly taken, but that they be well weighed. It is a 
snare unto a man after vows to make inquiry. God 
abhors all false pretenses, all hollow professions. 
Think, think solemnly and deliberately before you 
set your hand to a covenant even with men. But 
where the transaction is with God, we can not be too 
jealous of our own hearts. He has no pleasure in 
fools. 

2. Any purpose to serve God should be sincere, not 
hypocritical ; cheerful, not reluctant ; hearty, not 
formal. God loves a cheerful giver. The prodigal 
had a great sense of shame, but no reluctance to re- 
turn. He took blame to himself, but his hope was 
that he would at least be allowed the place of a hired 
servant, which was more than he deserved, and far 
better than his present condition. 

3. Beware of limiting your resolutions of consecra- 



The Christians Good Resolutions. 79 

tion to God. Some are ready to engage to give Him 
lip-service. Others seem ready to serve Him secretly, 
and as it were by stealth ; but they are not ready to 
witness a good confession before many witnesses. 
Some would be willing to engage for a time, but they 
are not ready to serve God all their lives, yea, to all 
eternity. Others wish such or such a sin spared. 
They say it is a little matter. That is not the way. 

Reader, deal not so with God. Give Him all ; for 
after all, it is but little that you can do for Him, who 
has done so much for you. 

4. In all your resolutions, keep your eye on the 
person, work, grace, example, sufferings, righteous- 
ness, power, and intercession of Christ. Without 
Him you can do nothing. His blood can cleanse, 
but nothing else can wash away the stain of sin. His 
priestly offering can avail for remission, but your 
tears can not purge away a single sin. He is mighty 
to save, and you need an Almighty Saviour. He is 
the end of the law for righteousness to every one 
that believeth. He is Alpha and Omega. Look to 
jesus. 

5. Never forget your dependence upon the power 
and indwelling of God's Spirit. He is the holy 
anointing oil, with which humble souls are made 
kings and priests unto God. We are blind, but the 
Holy Spirit is the eye-salve to open the blind eyes. 
We are dumb in God's praises, but under His power 
the tongue of the stammerers shall speak plainly. We 
are sad and despondent in good things, but He is the 
oil of gladness to all the saints. The words in which 
our resolutions are formed may be very few, but they 






8o The Christian. 

should be very explicit. Some have recommended a 
covenant fully drawn up and in express terms. This 
may be well in many cases. The danger is that the 
words will not be well chosen, and so in the end will 
entangle the conscience. But an upright mind will 
hardly be perplexed with a resolution simple like that 
of Joshua, or like that in one of our hymns : 

" Here, Lord, I give myself away, 
'Tis all that I can do." 

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. What do 
you purpose in your heart ? What are your good 
resolutions? Are you living up to those you have 
made ? 



THE CHRISTIAN LIVES BY RULE. 

A great man of the last century said, " He who 
lives not by rule, lives not at all." Perhaps there is 
more truth in that assertion than some are at first 
disposed to admit. Life is very short. A very great 
work is to be done, or we shall be forever undone. 
Confusion is very bad. It greatly hinders all good 
things. There is no example of success without a 
plan. Method is essential to a good habit, and good 
habit imparts vigor to character. 

Living by rule does not consist in gathering and 
remembering many notions, though it does presup- 
pose some acquaintance with good maxims. A French 
dramatist brings in a man full of wonder at the dis- 
covery that he had been speaking prose all his life and 
did not know it. Good poems were written before 
any rules for the great art had been codified. So men 
who are renewed in heart are correct in life to some 
extent before they know all the rules that should gov- 
ern human conduct. Still, maxims are good and 
should be studied. Some of the rules of God's 
Word are prudential. Such are many things in the 
Book of Proverbs. Some are devotional, as in the 
Sermon on the Mount, and in many epistles ; some 
are practical, as in the twelfth chapter of Romans ; 
some are experimental, as in the Psalms. All Scrip- 
ture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable 



82 The Christian. 

in some way to advance the Divine life in the 
soul. The following rules would be very helpful to 
many : 

i. Set the Lord always before you. Live as seeing 
Him, who is invisible. Often say, Thou, God, seest 
me. To God we must give account. In Him we live 
and move and have our being. From Him is our 
fruit found. He is our Rock, our Refuge, our High 
Tower, our Strength. Blessed is he who frames his 
doings to please his Maker. Some professed Chris- 
tians live very much as they would if they thought 
there was no God. 

2. Know, believe, and practice the whole Word of 
God. Indulge no prejudices against any portion of 
the Bible. All of it is truth — all of it is precious 
truth. The part of Scripture which you slight, prob- 
ably contains the very truth most needful for the cor- 
rection of some of your faults. The threatenings 
warn, the precepts guide, the promises encourage, the 
doctrines instruct, the examples draw, the histories 
illustrate, the poems delight. " The law of Thy 
mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and 
silver." " I have esteemed the words of His mouth 
more than my necessary food." 

3. Adopt the pure Gospel scheme of doctrine. Be- 
gin not in the spirit, and then hope to be made per- 
fect by the flesh. It is very sad to see men turning 
away from the glorious Gospel of the blessed God to 
fables, however cunningly they may be devised. 
Whereunto you have attained in evangelical knowl- 
edge, hold fast. Never yield first principles ; never 
be beguiled into any form of unsound words. What 



The Christian Lives by Rule. 83 

is the chaff to the wheat ? As long as Christ is all in 
all to you, you are safe ; but when you delight in any 
other way of life, you are guilty of spiritual harlotry. 
In no way can we more offend against God than by 
slighting His Son. 

4. Put a just estimate on time and eternity: on 
time, because it is so short, because its pursuits are so 
vain, because on the right use of it depend everlast- 
ing consequences ; on eternity, because it is eternity 
— it has no bounds, it is more vast than the sea, it 
gives to hell its most impenetrable gloom, and to 
heaven the unfailing fixedness of its joys. 

5. Do whatever is incumbent each moment as it 
passes. Gape and gaze not after the duties of a fu- 
ture which may never arrive. Waste not life in idle 
regrets over a past which can not be reclaimed. Just 
do present duty. Stand in your lot. Be at your 
post. Watch and pray. Whatsoever thy hand find- 
eth to do, do it with thy might. No one has or gives 
so good assurance that in the future he will be found 
faithful, as he who is now steadfast with God and 
righteous in all his ways. 

6. Do good to all men as you have opportunity. 
Deal out kindnesses and favors with an unsparing 
hand. The cause you understand not, search out. 
If you can not find happiness by direct search, try 
another plan. Make others happy, and see if that 
does not make you truly blessed. I saw a little child 
asked to share its apple with its playmate. It refused, 
and at once frowned and looked miserable. I saw an- 
other child asked to do the same thing, and with a 
benignant' smile that told of inward joy, it called on 



84 The Christian. 

its mother to divide the luscious fruit. All the malev- 
olent passions are tormentors; all the benevolent 
affections conduce to happiness. 

7. Another good rule to live by is this: Never 
make a mock at sin and never jest with sacred things. 
Let holiness to the Lord be written on His day, 
His word, His worship, His name, His cause. 

8. Never attempt to find out how near you can 
come to sin without sinning. He that loveth danger 
shall perish therein. Sam Patch made many a foolish 
leap, but it was only the last that was fatal. In ab- 
horring evil and in cleaving to that which is good 
there is no danger of excess. 

9. Never expect great things from sloth, nor regard 
carelessness as the parent of any good. Feeble ef- 
forts can not produce powerful results. It is the hand 
of the diligent that maketh rich. 

10. Steadfastly set your face against needless de- 
lays in doing any work for the honor of your Master, 
for the good of your fellow-men, or for your own edi- 
fication. A dilatory spirit is one of the most delusive 
of all the temptations of the Great Destroyer. It 
proposes merely to postpone, perhaps for an hour or 
a day. It would shudder at the thought of final and 
utter neglect of what it thus defers. Do this very 
day and hour the duties which this hour and day de- 
mand. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S ENEMIES. 

That was a good prayer of David, " Lead me in a 
plain path, because of mine enemies."— Ps. xxvii. n. 
A similar is that in Ps. v. 8.: "Lead me, Lord, in 
Thy righteousness, because of mine enemies." Divine 
guidance is in every respect a blessing. When sur- 
rounded by foes we must fall, unless God leads and 
protects us. At such a time it is a great mercy to be 
kept from perplexity respecting duty. " A plain 
path," a smooth, clear, open way is of the Lord. The 
reasons are obvious. 

Our enem'es are numerous. " Many are my perse- 
cutors and mine enem'es." How the dogs do beset 
some good men. Packs of them pursue some all their 
days. One man often contends against a thousand 
enemies. 

Our enemies often have power, and wealth, and in- 
fluence on their side. They are also lively. — Ps. xxxviii. 
19. They sleep not except they do some mischief; 
nor do they measure their hostility. They are like 
wild beasts. They roar. — Ps. lxxiv. 4. They make a 
tumult. — Ps. lxxxiii. 2. They are very violent. 

Indeed they are often deadly. Since the days of 
Pharaoh, their great model, each cries : " I will pur- 
sue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil ; my lust 
shall be satisfied upon them ; I will draw my sword ; 
mine hands shall destroy them." 



86 The Christian. 

Nothing is more noticeable than the merriment of 
the wicked over sacred things and innocent people. 
" Our enemies laugh among themselves." — Ps. lxxx. 
6. So we still have in the world " cruel mockings," 
even where " scourgings " and " imprisonments" are 
unlawful. They love to cry, Aha ! aha ! 

Oftentimes our enemies are so allied to us that we 
have no more peace at home than abroad. — Mic. vii. 
6. When this is the case, they are a smoke in the 
eyes, a thorn in the flesh. 

Very often they are full of treachery. " The kisses 
of an enemy are deceitful." Judas was neither the 
first nor the last who pretended friendship with the 
basest hypocrisy. 

Some men's enmity has no holidays. It never 
wanes. It never cools. " And Saul became David's 
enemy continually." — I Sam. xviii. 29. 

Such enemies often produce a deep impression on 
others, persuading them that we are evil. No small 
part of Saul's subjects really believed that David was 
a bad man, so that he says : " I was a reproach among 
all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbors, 
and a fear to mine acquaintance ; they that did see 
me without, fled from me. I am forgotten as a dead 
man out of mind. I am like a broken vessel." 

Even good men may be often greatly distressed by 
such hatred. David says : " Mine eye is consumed 
because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine 
enemies." Read the Book of Lamentations, and see 
how Jeremiah sighed and wept under the raging of 
his foes. 

It is no small part of wisdom to know how to treat 






The Christians Enemies. 87 

our foes. God gave Solomon a great blessing because 
he had " not asked the life of his enemies." — 1 Kings 
iii. 11, 12; 2 Chron. i. 11, 12. We must love our 
enemies. — Matt. v. 44 ; Luke vi. 27-35. We must pray 
for them at all times, feed them when hungry, clothe 
them when naked, lend to them when needy. 

God always takes sides with the just against all 
their wicked foes. His promise is : "I will be an en- 
emy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine 
adversaries." — Ex. xxiii. 22. The good man will 
God never "deliver unto the will of his enemies." 

And it is very easy for God to defeat and over- 
throw all our enemies. He says : " I will send a 
faintness into their hearts ; and the sound of a shaken 
leaf shall chase them ; and they shall flee, as fleeing 
from a sword ; and they shall fall when none pursu- 
eth." — Lev. xxvi. 36. See also Ex. xxiii. 27. 

Under the shadow of God's wings His people are 
safe from all their adversaries. He stills the enemy and 
the avenger. " Thou hast been a shelter for me, and 
a strong tower from the enemy." — Ps. lxi. 3. God 
can make our worst enemies to be at peace with us. 
■ — Prov. xvi. 7. God can convert foes into friends : 
" Verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in 
the time of evil and in the time of affliction." — Jer. 
xv. 11. God's power can subdue any will, change 
any heart. 

Every child of God may therefore address every 
foe, as did the Church of old : " Rejoice not against 
me, O mine enemy ; when I fall, I shall arise ; when I 
sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I 
will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have 



88 The Christian. 

sinned against Him, until He 'plead my cause, and 
execute judgment for me; He will bring me forth 
to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness. 
Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame 
shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the 
Lord thy God ? Mine eyes shall behold her : now 
shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets." 
Oh, how sweet will be the rest of heaven. There 
the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary 
are at rest, and the righteous have everlasting deliv- 
erance from all their enemies. 

A late writer gives this good practical advice : 
Have you enemies ? Go straight on and mind them 
not. If they block up your path, walk around them, 
and do your duty regardless of their spite. A man 
who has no enemies is seldom good for anything — he 
is made of that kind of material which is so easily 
worked that every one has a hand in it. A sterling 
character — one who thinks for himself, and speaks 
what he thinks — is always sure to have enemies. They 
are as necessary to him as fresh air ; they keep him 
alive and active. A celebrated character, who was 
surrounded with enemies, used to remark : ' They are 
sparks which, if you do not blow, will go out of them- 
selves.' Let this be your feeling while endeavoring 
to live down the scandal of those who are bitter 
against you. If you stop to dispute, you do but as 
they desire, and open the way for more abuse. Let 
the poor fellows talk ; there will be a reaction if you 
perform but your duty, and hundreds who were once 
alienated from you will flock to you and acknowledge 
their error." 



THE CHRISTIAN'S SHEPHERD. 

He leadeth me. — I certainly need some one to lead 
me. I am so poor, so blind, so weak, so foolish that, 
if left to myself, I must fatally err. For a long time 
I required the help of nurses and the guidance of par- 
ents and teachers ; and when I ceased to have these, 
I needed God's help as much as ever. It is not in 
man that walketh to direct his steps. We have in 
our language hardly any form of speech that expresses 
a sadder state than when we say of a man, " He is 
awfully left to himself." Lord, never leave me nor 
forsake me, lest I be undone. 

Then He leadeth me so gently. Even when all 
around is uproar and confusion, I am carried along 
almost as if there was no commotion in the world* 
When God gives peace, who can make perturbation ? 
The Lord is more true in His friendship than a 
brother, more pitiful than a father, more loving than 
a mother, more gentle than a woman. He doth not 
afflict willingly. Nor does the Lord ever lead me 
otherwise than wisely. He makes no mistakes. He 
knows the way I ought to go. He knows how much 
sweet and how much bitter are best for me. He un- 
derstands me fully. He knows my spirit would fail 
before Him if I were dealt with severely. Oh, how 
He mingles mercy with judgment ! 

True, He leads me often in a mysterious way. I 



90 The Christian. 

see not the end from the beginning. I can not see 
afar off. If I perfectly comprehended all God's ways, 
I think I should be capable of guiding myself, at 
least to some extent. When all His waves and bil- 
lows go over me, how can I tell anything ? Would 
Jacob, or Joseph, or Bunyan, or Rogers have chosen 
the way the Lord led them ? Have not the saints 
long been crying, "O Lord, how long?" His foot- 
steps are in the sea ; clouds and darkness are round 
about Him. He giveth account of none of His mat- 
ters. His judgments are a great deep. But He 
never does wrong. He leadeth me in the paths of 
righteousness. Righteousness and judgment are the 
habitation of His throne. In review of all the past 1 
can truly say, " Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, 

Lord. I know that in faithfulness Thou hast afflict- 
ed me." 

Then He leads me always : in prosperity and in ad- 
versity ; in joy and in sorrow ; when alone and when 
surrounded by others. If He left me even foi* an 
hour I should be undone. When I sleep, Thou, 
Lord, keepest vigil over me. When I awake, I am 
still with Thee. On the land and on the sea J am 
kept by the mighty power of God. 

He leadeth me, and I will trust Him. He deserves 
my entire confidence. It is my sin and my folly that 

1 am so slow of heart to repose confidence in Him. 
I will try to do better. Lord, give me the heritage 
of them that seek shelter under the shadow of Thy 
wings. Thou art my Shield, my Refuge, my Strong 
Rock, my God and Saviour. 

He leadeth me, and I will follow Him. I will 



The Christian's Shepherd. 91 

put my hand in His, and go wherever His prudence 
shall direct. Never yet has He brought me into 
needless trouble. When affliction has gained its end, 
relief, in some form, has come. I will mark His foot- 
steps, and go right forward. He will guide me by 
His counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Oh, 
well, if glory is to follow sorrow and anguish, I will 
say no more : 



" The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 
Leads to the land where sorrows are unknown." 



I must be content that He should have His way. 
My will is the will of a worm, a fool, a sinner. " Not 
my will, but Thine be done, O God." I care not what 
comes if the end be eternal life — everlasting repose 
in the bosom of God. Guide me on and up and 
through, O Lord. Be Thou on my right hand and 
on my left by day and by night. Strengthen me 
with strength in my soul. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S ADVOCATE. 

Who needs an Advocate ? The accused. And are 
we accused ? Yes ; and we are rightly charged with 
many offences. Sin has ruined us. Iniquities have 
sadly prevailed against us. They have brought us 
into disgrace before God, and angels, and men. Our 
own consciences indict and convict us. We can not 
answer for one of a thousand of our transgressions. 
In the court of Heaven our names are worthless. 
God often reminds us of this, telling us that if He 
shows mercy or spares us, it is not for our sakes. It 
is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. 

And is there any Advocate for such transgressors? 
Yes. Is it a sinful man like ourselves? No. Such 
an one could not answer for himself. Is it some holy 
angel ? No. If such an one were to hear the whole 
story of our guilt, he would throw up our cause from 
disgust at such baseness and ingratitude. It is Jesus 
Christ. He pleads and manages oar cause before His 
Father. We have an Advocate. Thanks be to God 
for that. 

Our Advocate can lay His hand upon our offended 
Judge. He counts it not robbery to be equal with 
God. In Him the Father is well pleased. In Him 
dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. All the 
hosts of God worship Him. To Him the Father has 
committed all judgment and all authority. We are 



The Christian s Advocate. 93 

required to honor the Son as we honor the Father. 
God has given Him a name that is above every name. 
He is as full of power as He is of truth and grace. 
There is none with Him. He needs no help. There 
is none like Him. He is over all, God blessed for- 
ever. 

And He has our nature also. He was once a weep- 
ing babe, a friendless stranger, and sorely tempted 
of the Devil. He is bone of our bone and flesh of 
our flesh. He has a brother's heart. He knows by 
experience every kind of sorrow which it was possible 
for innocence to endure. Above all others was He a 
man of sorrows. He wept ; He sweated blood ; He 
hungered ; He thirsted ; He expired on the cross ; 
He bore God's wrath. 

And then He was without sin. He knew no sin. 
He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from 
sinners. Pilate found no fault in Him. Infidelity 
has detected no flaw in His character. Omniscient 
purity declared Him sinless, faultless. Now we may 
glory in Him. If we sin, we have an Advocate with 
the Father — Jesus Christ, THE RIGHTEOUS. Our 
hope springs from His worthiness and His merits ; in 
no sense from anything in us. He is THE LORD OUR 
Righteousness. That is His name. 

Then He is a tried Friend of sinners. God has 
tried Him and found Him faithful as an Advocate for 
men. Many penitents have tried Him and found 
Him gracious. He has never undertaken a cause and 
lost it. He is mighty to save. His advocacy can 
not but succeed. Him the Father heareth always. 
All the redeemed in glory are monuments of the 
efficacy of His intercession. 



94 



The Christian. 



All this is right. He gave Himself for us as an 
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling 
savor. He poured out His soul unto death. The 
Lord made His soul an offering for sin. He redeems 
not with silver and gold, but with His own most 
precious blood. The ransom He paid was of infinite 
value. There is no limit to its sufficiency. 

" Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood 
Shall never lose its power 
Till all the ransomed Church of God 
Be saved to sin no more." 



Those blessed hands which were pierced for us on 
Calvary are the hands which are lifted up for us be- 
fore the eternal and propitious throne above. 

Of the manner of His advocacy we know but little, 
except that it is very glorious, full of dignity, and full 
of power. He appears for us. That is enough. Dr. 
Doddridge represents Him as introducing His chosen 
to the Father, admitting that they are worthy of 
death, but pleading that He has died for them. 

Of the substance of His advocacy we need enter- 
tain no doubt. It is pretty fully explained in His 
great intercessory prayer recorded in the seventeenth 
chapter of John. 

Now, does any humble soul wish for a sure ground 
of hope? He has it in Christ's pleading his cause. 
" Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that 
he may sift you as wheat ; but I have prayed for 
thee, that thy faith fail not." — Luke xxii. 31, 32. 
And it did not fail — his faith recalled him and made 
him weep bitterly. 



The Christian's Advocate. 95 

In availing ourselves of Christ's advocacy, let us 
know what our case is ; let us attempt no conceal- 
ment ; let us tell Him all, and let us commit to Him 
the whole matter. None is able to destroy, if He 
protects. None can condemn those whom He justi- 
fies. 

Nor need we be deterred from seeking His mercy 
by the greatness of our guilt. He saves the chief 
of sinners as readily as the least of sinners. He is 
able to save to the uttermost all that come to God 
by Him. Reader ! you may think your case very 
bad, and so it is. But you are not worse than the 
chief of sinners. You may be the uttermost ; but 
you are not beyond the uttermost. Hope in His 
mercy. Oh, give Him your confidence. Lean on His 
almighty arm. Take Him as your Advocate. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S EARNEST. 

Inspired writers are exceedingly intent on impress- 
ing their thoughts on others. They seize on any- 
thing that will aid them in their work. They speak 
of breaking up fallow ground, of sowing and reaping, 
of building and journeying, when by these things 
they can unfold or explain what they mean. Paul 
sees an altar inscribed To THE Unknown God. He 
immediately proposes to tell them of that very Gcd. 
Sometimes buying and selling with their various 
terms and usages serve their turn. Nor do they 
care whether a usage or idea is heathen or Jewish, so 
that it is pertinent to the matter in hand. Paul oft- 
en refers to racing, wrestling, and fighting to eluci- 
date his meaning, though these ideas were foreign 
from the school of Gamaliel. So, also, Paul borrows 
a word from trade among the Phenicians, Arralion, 
to teach a very important truth. 

This word is always rendered earnest, in the sense 
of handsel, pledge, token of something yet to come. 
It occurs thrice in the New Testament, and only in 
the writings of Paul: "Now, He which establisheth 
us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God ; 
who hath also sealed us, and given us the EARNEST 
of the Spirit in our hearts ; " " Now He that hath 
wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also 
hath given us the Earnest of the Spirit ; " " In 



The Christian's Earnest, 97 

whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed 
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the 
EARNEST of our inheritance until the redemption 
of the purchased possession, unto the praise of 
His glory." — 2 Cor. i. 22 ; v. 5 ; Eph. i. 13, 14. 

In many ways does God comfort His people. 
Sometimes it is by sacraments, which are signs and 
seals of His covenant. Sometimes it is by promises 
and oaths, that by these two immutable things His 
saints might have strong consolation. Sometimes it 
is by tokens for good, some visible evidence of Divine 
regard such as is noticed in Ps. xli. 11: " By this I 
know that Thou favorest me." Compare Ps. lxxxvi. 
1 7. Sometimes it is by giving us an EARNEST. 

But what is an earnest? Brown defines it as 
11 Somewhat given in hand to give assurance that 
what more is promised shall be given in due time. 
It differs from a pledge, as it is not taken back when 
full payment is made." Burrill says that " An ear- 
nest is part of the price paid for property or goods 
sold, or money given in token that a bargain is rati- 
fied, or to bind a contract ; often called earnest- 
money." It seems that the merchants of Phenicia 
either first or most extensively resorted to the arra- 
bon, the earnest. One who disregarded the solemnity 
or obligations of the Earnest, would have been infa- 
mous. 

Now the Earnest God gives His people is the Holy 
Spirit, the Comforter, Sanctifier, and Guide of His 
redeemed people. Peace of conscience, assured to 
us by the Blessed Spirit of God, is a sure forerunner 
of life and peace beyond the grave. He who has 



98 The Christian. 

the fruits of the Spirit, has the Spirit himself. And 
he who has the Spirit of God, is the temple of God, 
and is thus devoted, consecrated, and marked out as 
one belonging to the Most High. His spot is the 
spot of God's people. His light is not darkness. 
His heart is the home of all that can ennoble human 
character. As David's first anointing by the com- 
mand of God gave a sure pledge that he should yet 
reign over Israel, so the anointing of the Christian 
by the Holy Ghost infallibly betokens his coming 
greatness, his everlasting bliss. The graces of God's 
Spirit in our hearts infallibly assure the people of 
God that in due time their rest shall be glorious. 

The title of believers is found in the righteousness 
of Christ. The faith of believers surely appropriates 
the merits of the Redeemer. Faith is the fruit of 
the Spirit, the gift of God — a gift never bestowed on 
any who are in the bond of iniquity or in the gall of 
bitterness. 

And he who has living faith, has all the other 
graces of the Spirit — love, hope, joy, patience, meek- 
ness, gentleness, courage, charity, brotherly kindness, 
and perseverance. In the new birth there are no 
monstrous productions. Fear without hope, or hope 
without fear, would present to us a very sad charac- 
ter. Confidence without reverence, or joy without 
humility, is not the type of a soul born from above. 

In this way a beautiful symmetry of character is 
secured. The people of God are an honor to God. 
They adorn the doctrines of God their Saviour. 
They are His witnesses in this wicked world. They 
are god-like just so far as they are godly. They 



The Christian s Earnest. 99 

know whom they have believed. They are known 
of God, and men take knowledge of them that they 
have been with Jesus. 

In due time, and by God's favor, such prove that 
the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance 
forever. They see that nothing can harm them, be- 
cause they are followers of that which is good. They 
know that they are of the truth, and shall assure their 
hearts before Him. 

The admission of such into glory is indeed a great 
event. Yet they had a right to expect it. Having 
on the wedding garments, it is right that they should 
go into the marriage supper. They walked with God 
on earth, and so they walk with Him in glory. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S JOY. 

The Scriptures as frequently and as urgently call 
on the righteous to rejoice, as they call on the wicked 
to weep and mourn. " Let all that put their trust 
in Thee, rejoice ; " " Let Mount Zion rejoice, let Ju- 
dah be glad ; " " Let the righteous be glad, let them 
rejoice before God ; yea, let them exceedingly re- 
joice ; " " Rejoice evermore ; " are mere samples of 
what may be found in both the Old and the New 
Testaments. 

Nor is the joy of the righteous vain and empty. 
He has good cause for the very highest exultations 
in which he ever indulges. Jehovah himself is a 
never-failing fountain of gladness to the humble. 
The Psalmist calls God his " exceeding joy." The 
darkest gulf into which the human mind ever looks, 
is the gulf of atheism. A world without a sun would 
be dismal, but a world without a God would be 
horrible. No wonder that the pious so exult in 
the Divine existence, and in all the Divine perfec- 
tions. " Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent 
reigneth," is a song sung wherever holy creatures are 
found. 

The salvation of God is matter of perpetual glad- 
ness to the saints in heaven and on earth. The plan, 
the Author, the cost, the nature, and the end of re- 
demption, fill the soul with pious wonder, and with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory. 



The Christians Joy. ioi 

In like manner the godly have joy in every good 
thing, in all the common bounties of Providence. 
They know that everything is sent in love. They 
even rejoice in tribulation. The martyrs have exult- 
ingly washed their hands in the flames that consumed 
them, and sung the praises of Immanuel till their 
voices sunk in death. 

It does not diminish, but rather increases, and gives 
permanency to this joy, that it is made sober by trem- 
bling, that is, by a holy caution, a salutary fear. " Let 
him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall," 
is a wholesome caution, and makes no good man 
despondent. Godly fear is closely allied to pious 
joy. It was when the prophet had such a glorious 
vision of God that he trembled, and his lips quiv- 
ered, and rottenness entered into his bones, and he 
trembled in himself, that he exultingly exclaimed : 
" Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither 
shall fruit be in the vines ; the labor of the olive 
shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the 
flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall 
be no herd in the stalls ; yet will I rejoice in the 
Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. " — Hab. 
iii. 16-18. So we see how by fear joy works, and by 
fear is made perfect. For the saints serve the Lord 
with fear, and rejoice with trembling.— Ps. ii. 11. 

The Christian has great joy when the kingdom of 
Heaven is first set up in his own heart. No day is 
more memorable than the day of one's espousal to 
Christ. How could it be otherwise ? The poor soul, 
long oppressed by the Devil, having all its noble fac- 
ulties loaded with the chains of ignorance, guilt, de- 



102 The Christian. 

pravity, and misery, and made to serve divers lusts 
is at that time delivered from its cruel taskmasters, 
and experiences the glorious liberty of the sons of 
God. " If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be 
free indeed." 

Oftentimes in its pilgrimage the soul is allowed to 
have glorious views of the mystery of God and of 
Christ. If not taken to the Mount of Transfigu- 
ration, it at least ascends .the mount of ordinances, 
and there it is satisfied, as with marrow and fatness. 
Then it is made like the chariots of Aminadib. It 
holds sweet intercourse with Heaven. Its fellow- 
ship is truly with the Father, and with His Son, 
Jesus Christ. 

At the close of his great work on the glory of 
Christ, John Owen has a chapter on the way and 
means of the recovery of spiritual decays, and of 
obtaining fresh springs of grace. He says : " There 
are two things which those who, after a long profes- 
sion of the Gospel, are entering into the confines of 
eternity, do long for and desire. The one is, that all 
their breaches may be repaired, their decays recov- 
ered, their backslidings healed The other is, 

that they may have fresh springs of spiritual life, and 
vigorous actings of all Divine graces, in spiritual- 
mindedness, holiness, and fruitfulness unto the praise 
of God, the honor of the Gospel, and the increase of 
their own peace and joy. These things they value 
more than all the world, and all that is in it." To 
such in a very pleasing degree God grants their desire. 
He has said that He would. Hear Him : " Even to 
your old age I am He ; and even to hoar hairs will I 



The Christians Joy. 103 

carry you ; I have made, and I will bear ; even I will 
carry, and will deliver you." — Isa. xlvi. 4. Again He 
says : " They shall still bring forth fruit in old age ; 
they shall be fat and flourishing ; to show the Lord 
is upright." — Ps. xcii. 14, 15. Because God is faith- 
ful, He gives increase of peace and joy to His aged 
servants. 

I have met many such in my life-time. I have met 
some such the last year. They tell me they are just 
waiting, that they have no tormenting fears, that the 
joy of the Lord is their strength, and that their hearts 
are where their treasure is — even in heaven. Blessed 
are such. Their joys bear them quite above their 
trials and their sorrows. 

A young orchard full of blooms is a goodly sight. 
But a matured orchard in autumn, laden with the 
richest fruit, is still more charming. This is the real- 
ity; the other was but the promise. The end of 
sowing is reaping. The end of a life of piety is com- 
fort and joy in the Holy Ghost. 

He who says there is no solid nor abounding joy 
to the Christian, is a stranger to vital godliness. The 
joy of the Lord is his strength. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S SORROW. 

" God had one Son on earth without sin, but never 
a son on earth without affliction." This has long 
been regarded as one of the best sayings of Augustine. 
It is very true and quite coincides with Scripture. It 
is fully borne out by that saying of the prophet Da- 
vid : " Many are the afflictions of the righteous." 
Blessed Paul says, " Whom the Lord loveth He chas- 
teneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." 
And sixty years after His ascension to glory, Jesus 
himself said : " As many as I love, I rebuke and 
chasten." 

All this, when rightly considered, is seen to be fair 
and fitting. For if the Saviour suffered, it is right 
the saved should suffer also. It is a great thing to 
be conformed to Christ in temper or suffering. " If 
we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him." 
" We which remain do fill up that which is behind of 
the afflictions of Christ." As Christ's sufferings pre- 
pared Him to be the Captain of our salvation and our 
sympathizing Friend, so our sufferings make us mind- 
ful of the sorrows of our Lord and increase our sym- 
pathy with Him in all His undertaking for us. 

There is a " need be " for all the trials of God's 
children on earth. Their pangs promote their purity. 
God puts them into the furnace that He may consume 
their dross, take away all their sin, and bring them 



The Christians Sorrow. 105 

out as pure gold. " He doth not afflict willingly, nor 
grieve the children of men." He has no pleasure in 
seeing His chosen suffer, but He delights to see His 
image on their hearts perfected. He chastens them 
for their profit, that they may be partakers of His 
holiness. He is a wise and good Father, and all His 
people on earth are more or less wayward. Blessed 
be His name. He will not cease to chastise them till 
their wills submit to His and rejoice in tribulation. 
Thereby the Lord is honored and their salvation pro- 
moted. 

Future glory will be somewhat in proportion to 
what Christ's people suffer for Him here. The crown 
of martyrdom is exceedingly bright. The glorious 
throng which John saw was made up of those who 
came out of great tribulation and had washed their 
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
How sweet will be rest after turmoil, peace after war, 
a quiet home after a long and perilous journey. 

Where is the experienced minister who has not 
often seen one year of suffering do more for the glory 
of Christ than five years of service ? 

N. D. was a small man with an effeminate voice. 
His tones sounded as if he were not in a good humor. 
He was not popular. He lived inconsiderable retire- 
ment. He had but little worldly goods, yet no one 
accused him of closeness. For one in his circum- 
stances he gave liberally. He was a great student of 
the Word of God. He saw in men much that he 
could not approve. Nor did he keep silence at such 
times. He was very punctual in attending the house 
of God. He maintained family worship with great 



106 The Christian. 

regularity. No one saw any flaw in his morals. But 
he could not express himself well on any subject. 
His manners were stiff and awkward. 

When he had been a professor of religion for about 
twenty-five years, he became a great sufferer. A 
complication of diseases came upon him. No such 
case of bodily disease had ever been seen in his neigh- 
borhood. No one saw him sleep for as much as six 
weeks at a time. He was in constant and excruciat- 
ing pain. No one could see him without feeling 
great pain at his bodily distress. He wore away rap- 
idly. He could not walk at all. He could not turn 
himself in bed. In this sharp trial his piety shined 
forth with great clearness. Not a murmur escaped 
his lips. He showed no impatience. His meekness 
and mildness were very striking. His voice, still ef- 
feminate, had quite lost its querulous tone. He was 
full of thankfulness to God and man. Of the least 
favor done him he would make some respectful and 
grateful mention. His whole character seemed to be 
changed. 

Yet he did not profess to be recently converted. 
On the contrary, he still believed that he had met 
with a saving change of heart long before. He spoke 
with delight of many pleasant days he had in youth 
when alone or when publicly worshiping God. He 
seemed to remember with accuracy and to quote with 
appositeness considerable portions of God's Word. 
He was a wonder unto many. Yea, he was a wonder 
to himself. He expressed his views as candidly as 
ever, but with the greatest gentleness and charitable- 
ness. His case was much spoken of. Many a Chris- 



The Christian' s Sorrow. 107 

tian went miles to see him. The feeling of every one 
seemed to be much like that of the prophet when he 
saw the bush in the midst of the flame unconsumed, 
" I will turn aside and see this great sight." And, 
truly, it was good to see how grace could bear one 
up, and bear him on, and bear him through, when his 
body was racked with exquisite tortures. 

N. D. lived several years after this season of violent 
suffering, but he never ceased to be an invalid, nearly 
helpless, and often full of pain. His faith seemed to 
grow exceedingly. His end was peace. 

This little narrative should teach us — 

1. Not to judge of character by mere voice or man- 
ners. Some good men have no manners at all. And 
some very good men have very bad manners. 

2. Yet we ought to study to commend to others our 
religion by those ways which are pleasant, lovely, and 
of good report. Piety is no foe to the amenities of life. 

3. No man knows what he can do and what he can 
bear till he is tried and receives new supplies of grace. 
N. D. considered himself a wonder of mercy. 

4. Let no man judge his brother. " The weak 
brother shall be holden up, for God is able to make 
him stand." He who is most humble is best prepared 
to stand severe tests. 

5. We greatly err when we lightly esteem the least 
of Christ's disciples, the poorest of the saints. On 
trial they may quite outshine us. 

6. It is certain that neither N. D. nor any other 
good man who has left this world regrets any suffer- 
ings he ever endured on earth. All is well that ends 
in glory. 



108 The Christian. 

7. Amazing is the distinguishing love of God which 
often takes men who are naturally neither attractive 
nor amiable, and makes them the monuments of re- 
deeming mercy. " Even so, Father, for so it seemed 
good in Thy sight." 

The following " Song of a Tired Servant " has re- 
cently been printed in several journals : 

" One more day's work for Jesus," 
One less of life for me ! 
But heaven is nearer, 
And Christ is dearer 

Than yesterday, to me. 
His love and light 
Fill all my soul to-night. 

One more day's work for Jesus : 

How glorious is my King ; 
'Tis joy, not duty, 
To speak His beauty ; 

My soul mounts on the wing 
At the mere thought 
How Christ its life hath bought. 

One more day's work for Jesus, 
Sweet, sweet the work has been, 

To tell this story, 

To show the glory, 
Where Christ's flock enter in. 

How did it shine 

In this poor heart of mine ! 

One more day's work for Jesus. 

In hope, in faith, in prayer, 
His word I've spoken, 
His bread I've broken 

To souls faint with despair ; 



The Christians Sorrow. 109 

And bade them flee 

To Him who hath saved me. 

One more day's work for Jesus. 

Yes, and a weary day. 
But heaven shines clearer, 
And rest comes nearer, 

At each step of the way. 
And Christ is all ; 
Before His face I fall. 

O blessed work for Jesus ; 

O rest at Jesus' feet ! 
There toil seems pleasure, 
My wants are treasure, 

And for Him looks sweet. 
Lord, if I may, 
I'll serve Thee more another day. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S SORROW— MORE 
ABOUT IT. 

It is not wicked to be sad. Blessed be God for 
that ! Jesus wept. Tears have often been the meat 
and drink of God's people day and night. As a pas- 
sion, sorrow is natural to sinful men. It may become 
sinful, but it is not necessarily sinful. In fact, it is 
often better, and does more good than gladness itself. 
Hear the wise man : " Sorrow is better than laughter ; 
for by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is 
made better. The heart of the wise is in the house 
of mourning ; but the heart of fools is in the house 
of mirth." The day of desperate sorrow seems to 
be reserved to the wicked. — Isa. xvii. II. To saints, 
no night is without its morning. Light is sown for 
the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in 
the morning. Blessed is he that has the hope of sal- 
vation to cheer him along ! 

David sometimes complains that his sorrow is daily, 
and sometimes that it is continual. Grief is often 
great, and dries up the blood and spirits. Job says : 
" Mine eye is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my 
members are as a shadow." We ought never to allow 
our sorrow to become turbulent, leading us to behave 
like the bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. This 
seems to have been one of the errors into which the 
man of Uz once fell. — Job. vi. 8-1 1. Not unfrequently 



More About Sorrow. Ill 

sorrow is incurable. When it is felt to be so, we are 
in danger of sinking into sullenness, or of making our 
hearts like an adamant, both very dangerous states 
of mind. A much better way, the right way, is in 
meekness to bear it, uttering no foolish words against 
God or man. " It is good for a man that he bear the 
yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone, and keepeth 
silence, because he hath borne it upon him." Let 
the sorrowful commit their ways to the Lord. " All 
the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my 
change come," was one of Job's wise sayings. 

Stoicism is not a virtue. When God calls us to 
weeping, we ought to weep. Insensibility is never 
pleasing to God ; but hardness of heart under judg- 
ments is very vile. " In that day did the Lord God 
of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to bald- 
ness, and to girding with sackcloth ; and behold joy 
and gladness, slaying of oxen, and killing sheep, eat- 
ing flesh, and drinking wine." — Isaiah xxii. 12,13. To 
despise the chastening of the Lord is to despise the 
Lord himself. 

But sorrow may be excessive. It is right to mourn 
when God calls us thereto ; but it is wicked to faint 
when we are rebuked of Him. Our moderation 
should be as clearly known in grief as in joy. God's 
people may not mourn the death of even great and 
good men, as those who have no hope, or as the 
heathen do. — Lev. xix. 28 ; Deut. xiv. 1 ; 1 Thess. 
iv. 13. We should pray that we may not have " over- 
much sorrow," " sorrow upon sorrow," or " sorrow 
without hope," as the Bible uses those phrases. 

Nor are we any more at liberty to let our sorrow 



112 The Christian. 

become excessive than we are at liberty to indulge 
mirth to wildness. The tendency of sorrow is to 
break the spirit. — Prov. xv. 13. But we must encour- 
age ourselves in the Lord our God. When our sor- 
row works death, it is more or less worldly. Yet who 
can stand when God dispenses sorrow in anger? — Job 
xli. 10. 

It is only by the Gospel that sorrow and sighing 
are effectually made to flee away. Only by faith can 
men in this life enter into rest. Believers, and they only, 
can be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. — 2 Cor. vi. 10. 
To such God is indeed a stay and a friend. Hear 
Him : " I have satiated the weary soul, and I have 
replenished every sorrowful soul." — Jeremiah xxxi. 
25. By faith He, who was the man of sorrows and 
acquainted with grief, becomes our solace and our 
stay. Oh, consider Him ! — Heb. xii. 3 ; 2 Tim. ii. 
11-13- 

Our great resort in times of sorrow must be the 
throne of grace. Is any afflicted ? let him pray. David 
found this the best way. — Ps. cxvi. 3, 4. 

Reader, are you tender and pitiful to the children 
of sorrow ? You ought to be. " To him that is 
afflicted, pity should be showed from his friend." — -Job 
vi. 14. Oh, be tender, and avoid all harshness in 
dealing with the sorrowful. 



THE CHRISTIAN'S HATRED OF ERROR. 

Truth is light. It makes manifest. It is one. It 
is harmonious. No truth contradicts any other truth. 
Truth has in it no jars, no discords, no contradictions. 
Like its Author, it is simple, eternal, and immutable. 
It came from God, who can not lie, can not deceive, 
can not be mistaken, can not be overreached. As 
there never was a time when two and two made five, 
so there shall never be a time when two and two shall 
make less or more than four. In like manner, sin 
and holiness never were the same, and to all eternity 
they shall be different. Right and wrong can not 
agree, because one is conformity to truth and the 
other is at war with truth. One is from above ; the 
other is from beneath. Truth is the opposite of fic- 
tion, fable, falsehood. 

All truth is equally true, but all truth is not equally 
important. The axioms of geometry are as true as 
the first principles of the Gospel, yet a man may be 
happy, holy, and saved without knowing any mathe- 
matical truth whatever ; but eternal life depends on 
our knowing God and Jesus Christ, whom He has 
sent. In the arts and sciences a truth may be of 
great value to one man, while to him whose calling 
or profession is different, it is of no considerable value. 
But all religious truth is of great price to every man. 
On it depends his eternal well-being. We can not 



114 The Christian. 

give too much for it. " Buy the truth and sell it not." 
The wise men of the East took a long journey to see 
Him who is the way, the truth, and the life ; and they 
gained their object. They went on no fool's errand. 
It was with a great sum that the chief captain ob- 
tained the freedom of a Roman citizen. It was a 
grant worth having ; but it reached not beyond this 
life. Many who had it not, lived virtuously and pi- 
ously, and were happy beyond the grave. But he 
who has the truth is blessed for ever and ever. 

No want is so appalling as to be left destitute of 
God's mercy and truth. All else is bearable. This 
is intolerable misery. Hezekiah justly thought it 
would be well with him if peace and truth were in his 
days. When the Messiah rides prosperously, it is 
because of truth and meekness and righteousness. 
When God would pronounce a blessing on philan- 
thropists and benefactors, He says : " Mercy and truth 
shall be to them that devise good." Nor is there 
ever a sadder state of things in a community than 
when truth is fallen in the streets, for then justice 
standeth afar off and equity can not enter. 

On the other hand, a lie is the opposite of truth. 
It misleads, deceives, and beguiles, just as far as it 
is received. It is the progeny of the wicked one. 
When men delight in lies they curse inwardly. The 
sentence of God is, '* He that speaketh lies shall per- 
ish." If any doubt God's abhorrence of lies, in the 
shape of falsehood to men, let them read the awful 
history of Gehazi ; and if any doubt God's abhorrence 
of lies uttered to Himself, let him read the appalling 
story of Ananias and Sapphira. 



The Christian's Hatred of Error. 115 

But lies, in the shape of religious error, are no less 
displeasing to God. False teachers cause the people 
to err by their lies. By the same means they make 
the heart of good men sad. They thus afflict whom 
God would comfort. When men speak lies in hypoc- 
risy, you may know that their conscience is seared 
with a hot iron. Just as sure as a man loves God's 
law, he hates and abhors lying. To God nothing is 
more offensive than false doctrine. It is a slander on 
the Almighty. It is a deadly poison. It eats like a 
cancer. 

It is wonderful how bitter is the malignity of men 
against all who are grieved by their false doctrines. 
" A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by 
it." The basest passions were indulged against all the 
prophets and apostles and intrepid friends of truth 
by all the fautors of wicked dogmas. 

" No lie is of the truth." That is, no lie is a part 
of the truth. No false doctrine is any part of Chris- 
tianity. Pool : " Any part of false doctrine doth so 
ill match and square with the frame of Divine truth, 
that judicious Christians may discern they are not of 
a piece." 

Remarks. 

1. It is a solemn duty to be valiant for the truth. 
Men whose profession, office, or station calls them to 
be so and are not, are justly condemned of the Lord, 
and are put down among the greatest enemies of God 
and man. — Jer. ix. 3. Over a people in such a state 
the bitterest tears may be justly poured out. If they 
can not be changed, they are utterly undone. 



n6 The Christian. 

2. God's peace and God's truth go together. We 
can not have the former without the latter. Holy 
writers often unite them. Why should we foolishly 
try to separate them ? They are closely united in all 
good governments, in all happy families, in all virtu- 
ous persons. 

3. No lie has any sanctifying power. It comes 
from wickedness. It leads to wickedness. God may 
save us notwithstanding some errors, but He will not 
save us by means of our errors. " Sanctify them 
through Thy truth ; Thy word is truth." 

4. True liberty is by the power of truth in the 
hands of the Holy Spirit. " The truth shall make you 
free." All error is licentiousness. It enslaves. It 
degrades. It debases. It opposes the God of truth 
and the Spirit of truth. 

5. The truth may be held in unrighteousness. 
Many have done so. It is bad not to know the truth. 
It is ruinous to know the truth and not obey it. 
Practice is the very life of piety. " Every one that is 
of the truth heareth My voice," says Christ. " Prove 
ail things; hold fast that which is good." 



THE CHRISTIAN'S GLORIOUS RICHES. . 

The Christian is a paradox. He is poor, yet makes 
many rich ; he has nothing, yet possesseth all things. 
• — 2 Cor. vi. 10. Because he has Christ, he has the 
unsearchable riches of Christ. Four times does Paul 
speak of " the riches of His glory." It is a Hebrew 
form of expression, equivalent to " His glorious 
riches." In Romans ix. 23, the apostle states it was 
God's plan to " make known the riches of His glory 
on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared 
unto glory." In Eph. i. 18, he prays that "the eyes 
of their understanding being enlightened, they may 
know what is the hope of his calling, and what the 
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints." 
In Eph. iii. 16, he prays that God " would grant them, 
according to the riches of His glory, to be strength- 
ened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." 
And in Col. i. 27, we read of " the saints, to whom 
God would make known what is the riches of the 
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles : which is 
Christ in you, the hope of glory." It is therefore 
clear that all implied in this phrase shall be made 
manifest in the saints, shall be known by them, shall 
strengthen them, and shall secure to them the bless- 
ings of a glorious experience. 

What, then, are these " glorious riches ? " Who 
but God can fully answer that question ? Sometimes 



n8 The Christian. 

He speaks to us concerning them. By one apostle 
He tells us of " love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gen- 
tleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." — Gal. 
v. 22, 23. By another He tells us of " faith, virtue, 
knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly 
kindness, and charity." — 2 Pet. i. 5-7. What a beau- 
tiful constellation of virtues is here ! They are the 
graces of the Holy Spirit. He who has these has 
glorious riches. Nothing shall ever harm him. 

In another place God says, " All things are yours, 
whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or 
life, or death, or things present, or things to come : 
all are yours." — I Cor. iii. 21, 22. Are not these 
riches of glory ? This world and the next, with all 
the real blessings in both, belong to the people of the 
Most High. This is very much the way in which 
Christ personally stated the matter : " Verily I say 
unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or 
parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the king- 
dom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold 
more in this present time, and in the world to come 
life everlasting." — Luke xviii. 29, 30. In like manner, 
Paul says that godliness has the " promise of the life 
that now is, and of that which is to come." — 1 Tim. 
iv. 8. 

We may, then, sum up these riches of glory thus : 
Believers have full and free forgiveness of all their 
sins ; they are fully accepted in the Beloved ; they 
are clothed in Christ's spotless righteousness ; they 
are adopted into the family of God ; their title to 
heaven through Christ is perfect ; they are regenera- 
ted ; they have increase of grace ; their sanctification 



The Christians Glorious Riches. 119 

is secured ; they have peace in believing ; they are 
sure of victory over sins, the world, the flesh, the 
devil, all sorrow, death, hell, and the grave ; they 
have the elements and principles of all virtues, and 
shall infallibly have them all perfected ; they have 
God for their Father, Christ for their Saviour, the 
Holy Ghost for their Comforter, hope in God for 
their anchor, and heaven for their home ; they shall 
have boldness in the day of judgment ; they shall be 
like Christ and with Christ forever ; they shall inherit 
all things. 

Oh, who would not be a Christian f 



SOME MUSINGS OF AN OLD CHRISTIAN. 

Long-continued and sore trials would drown the 
people of God in sorrow, but that the Lord gives them 
blessed cordials and puts underneath them the ever- 
lasting arms. Sad indeed is the case of a man when 
Divine mercy can not effect its object without his 
overthrow. God never withdrew His tender mercies 
from any till sin had made its dreadful mark. 

As God is the Father of the fatherless, so is He 
also the Helper of the helpless. 

He who so fears as not to love, and he who so loves 
as not to fear his Maker, are alike destitute of true 
piety. 

He who trusts in great men is as foolish as he who 
trusts in mean men. 

God's condescension is equal to His majesty. 

Man's knowledge is soon exhausted. Even Dr. 
Johnson told the king he had written nearly all he 
knew. 

Inanimate creation and brutes glorify God. Why 
should man expect to be left to do as he pleased, and 
honor or dishonor God, as he might choose? 

Our circumstances are never so depressed that the 
Almighty can not give us effectual aid. 

The worst maladies are sinful passions. 

Neither men nor angels are ever better employed 
than in obeying God's commandments. 



Some Musings of an Old Christian. 12 1 

It is sad that so many boast of justification or cry 
for pardon, who never speak of sanctification nor 
pray for purity. 

Having learned to sing God's praises here, we shall 
not lose the heavenly art by passing over Jordan. 

No man thinks his debt of gratitude to God greater 
than it is. 

" Every creature is to us what God makes it to be — 
a friend or an enemy." 

Let all who have unusual prosperity remember that 
their condition has temptations not a whit less severe 
than those of abject wretchedness. 

The early Christians, who had been converted from 
heathenism, often write almost as if they had just 
escaped from the precincts of perdition. 

Those who have honestly and heartily accepted the 
righteousness of Christ will be sure to mark His foot- 
steps and walk as He walked. 

All the sufferings and perplexities of man can be 
fairly traced to his apostasy from his Maker. 

Through the wonders of Divine grace, the natural 
evils which befall good men are the means not only 
of checking, but also of eradicating, the evils of their 
hearts and preparing them for glory. 

Even in this life the pious are often able, by the 
sure Word of God, to see glory revealed in the future 
of this world, much more in eternity. 

The heart of Christ and the heart of His people 
agree on all vital matters. 

If the Lord sufficiently helps His people along 
under trials, He shows Himself as kind as in granting 
deliverance. 



122 The Christian. 

As the whole scheme of salvation had its origin in 
Jehovah's mercy, goodness, and loving-kindness, and 
as He changes not, so we may rest assured He will 
perfect all the work He has begun. 

The most glorious thing in salvation is the perfect 
consistency of its rich grace with inflexible justice. 

There are wonders enough in the constitution of 
the person of the Mediator, and in His amazing his- 
tory while on earth, to fill the wisest and best of men 
with adoring admiration till they are admitted within 
the veil to behold the King in His glory. 

God is so determined on having our warm affections 
enlisted in all our approaches to Him, that if this 
point be not gained, nothing will please Him. 

Nothing is more necessary than the help of God's 
Spirit. Without wind, sails will not carry a vessel on- 
ward. Without fire from heaven, Elijah's sacrifice 
would have been no better than that offered to Baal. 
Without the spirit the body is dead. 

It would be a mystery amounting to a contradic- 
tion, if the salvation of God produced no control- 
ling, delightful emotions in the souls of His true chil- 
dren. 

The nine lepers who returned not to give glory to 
God, were as well pleased with their cure as their 
companion, the tenth ; but they cared nothing for the 
author of so great a mercy. 

It is sad to see teachers flattering their pupils, and 
pastors their people ; but all that would be harmless 
if men did not flatter themselves and refuse to re- 
ceive evidence against themselves. 



LETTER TO AN AGED CHRISTIAN. 

My Dear Friend : — I hope you are full of com- 
fort and peace. Truly the Lord is good to you as He 
is to us all. 

When a man is prepared to leave the world, it is a 
happiness to be able to say of him : " His death was 
early, not premature." Sometimes one outlives all 
his descendants and is left alone in the world. The 
poet describes one such : 

" Sad was the sight of widowed, childless age 
Weeping. I saw it once. Wrinkled with time. 
And hoary with the dust of years, an old 
And worthy man came to his humble roof, 
Tottering and slow, and on the threshold stood. 
No foot, no voice was heard within ; none came 
To meet him, where he oft had met a wife. 
And sons, and daughters, glad at his return ; 
None came to meet him ; for that day had seen 
The old man lay, within the narrow house. 
The last of all his family ; and now 
He stood in solitude, in solitude 
Wide as the world ; for all, that made to him 
Society, had fled beyond its bounds. 
Wherever strayed his aimless eye, there lay 
The wreck of some fond hope that touched his sou! 
With bitter thoughts, and told him all was past. 
His lonely cot was silent, and he looked 
As if he could not enter : on his staff 
Bending he leaned, and from his weary eye, 



124 The Christian. 

Distressing - sight ! a single tear-drop we~t : 
None followed, for the fount of tears was dry ; 
Alone, and last it fell from wrinkle down 
To wrinkle, till it lost itself, drunk by 
The withered cheek, on which again no smile 
Should come, or drop of tenderness be seen." 

Such has been the lot of many. Such may yet be 
your lot or mine. But to this hour God has spared 
us such trials. 

I hope you love prayer more and more. That is 
the life of piety. We all need larger measures of the 
influences of God's Spirit, and these can be had for 
the asking. There is a peculiar fitness in the aged 
servants of the Lord giving much time to calling upon 
the Lord. 

As you can not go among the people as freely as 
you have done, I fear that you may think you can 
not be as useful as formerly. But this is not so. 
If you can set an example of cheerfulness, tender- 
ness, and confidence in God, you will not be living in 
vain. And nothing can excuse you from prayer. 
Nothing more befits your age or your infirmities. 

Many years ago Dr. Archibald Alexander wrote : 
" It is not in vain for you to live, while you have ac- 
cess to a throne of grace. Before the advent of 
Christ there were some aged persons who seemed to 
have been preserved in life that they might pray for 
this event, and that they might enjoy the pleasure of 
seeing the answer of their prayers, and embracing Him 
in their arms whom they had so often embraced by faith. 
While all around was spiritual drouth and desolation, 
and corruption and error had infected all classes from 



Letter to an Aged Christian. 125 

the priesthood downward, there was a little band who 
had taken up their residence in the temple, or often 
frequented this holy place, who were waiting for the 
consolation of Israel. Two of these are named Sim- 
eon and Anna, but there were others of the same 
character ; for we read that this very aged and pious 
widow, who departed not from the temple, but served 
God with fastings and prayers night and day, * spoke 
of Christ after she had seen Him, to all them who 
looked for redemption in Israel' The darker the times 
the more closely do the truly pious adhere to each 
other. This little knot of praying people knew each 
other, and no doubt spoke often one to another, and 
in this case the Lord hearkened and heard ; for the 
object of their desires and prayers was given to them. 
Was the life of Anna an unprofitable life, although 
she never left the temple and did nothing but fast and 
pray? Was Simeon a useless member of the Church, 
because he was probably too old for labor? The 
truth was — and the same is often verified — that the 
true Church of God was at this time confined to a 
few precious souls ; while the priests and the scribes 
and the rulers had neither part nor lot in the matter. 
As God preserved Simeon, according to a promise 
made to him, until he saw the Lord's Christ, so He 
may be lengthening out your life, my aged brother, 
until you may have the opportunity of seeing the 
salvation of Israel come out of Zion. Do you not 
wish to be a witness of the rise and glory of the 
Church? Pray, then, incessantly for the growth and 
prosperity of Jerusalem. Consider it as your chief 
business to pray that the kingd _m of God may come." 



126 The Christian. 

If you and other aged Christians in your region 
would unite in prayer, as by God's grace you might, 
there would ere long be such a revival of religion 
among you as you have never witnessed. And here 
let me ask you to make up your mind what you will 
do yourself. Then ask others around you to join you 
in supplication every day. Then as you love to write, 
send a letter to your aged friends in different places, 
and ask them to join you. These letters need not 
be long, but they should be kind and urgent. Who 
knows what a blessing might follow such a concert 
of the aged ? 

I never knew a man who regretted the time he had 
spent in prayer. Did you ? But we have both known 
dying people to regret that they had prayed so little. 

It has for years been common in some parts of the 
country for respectable aged persons to give concerts 
of sacred music, singing the tunes most in use in their 
early days. This was a lawful way of spending an 
evening. But a concert of secret prayer, maintained 
by the aged men and women of your region, would 
bring down blessings that would fill heaven and earth 
with new hallelujahs to the Lamb. 

If you ask how may you and others pray fervently, 
I answer, all true devotion comes from the Holy Spirit. 
Yet it has grown into a saying in Israel, to pray fre- 
quently, is to pray fervently. It is also useful to think 
of the worth of souls, of the shortness of the time 
left us to pray, and of the infinite fullness that is in 
Jesus Christ. 

I suppose our prayers are more apt to fail in impor- 
tunity than in anything else Oh, that we could fol- 



Letter to an Aged Christian. 127 

low, as we ought, the teachings of Christ on this very 
point. He spoke two parables to inculcate impor- 
tunity. He set us an example also to the same effect. 
In importunity there can be no excess. " The fur- 
ther one proceeds, the greater will the goodness of 
the Most High appear to him. The more he trusts 
to it, the more will it uphold him. Importunity in 
prayer is a pressing into the goodness of God. .... 
The highest honor we can pay to God is to honor 
Him with our confidence." 

If you desire express warrant of Scripture for call- 
ing upon God, it is found in scores of places. I will 
cite but a few. " Thou hast not called upon Me, O 
Jacob ; thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel. Put 
Me in remembrance." — Isa. xliii. 22, 26. " I sought 
for a man among them, that should make up the 
hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, 
that I should not destroy it ; but I found none." — 
Ezek. xxii. 30. " He wondered that there was no 
intercessor." — Isa. lix. 16. Surely God would not 
thus complain of men, if He did not intend to find 
fault with them for " restraining prayer before God." 
— Job xv. 4. Of some He says that all their miseries 
begot no spirit of prayer: " They have not cried un- 
to Me with their heart, when they howled upon 
their beds." — Hos. vii. 14. 

Indeed there are passages of Scripture which seem 
to have special reference to the very wants of the 
churches in our day. " If My people, which are 
called by My name, shall humble themselves, and 
pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked 
ways ; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive 



128 The Christian. 

their sin, and will heal their land." — 2 Chron. vii. 14. 
11 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, it shall yet come to 
pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabi- 
tants of many cities ; and the inhabitants of one 
city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily 
to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord 
of hosts : I will go also. Yea, many people and 
strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts 
in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord." — Zech. 
viii. 20, 22. The world is to be converted by prayer. 
Although God's purposes of love and mercy are 
great, yet that should not hinder, but awaken prayer. 
The rule of His administration still is and ever will 
be till time shall end : " For this will I be inquired of 
by the house of Israel, to do it for them." Is He 
not most gracious when He says, " Command ye Me?" 
— Isa. xlv. 11. 

That we may not doubt His readiness to hear 1*3 
when we pray for the advancement of religion, our 
Lord Jesus Christ, in giving us a model of ordinary 
prayer, has made three out of seven petitions (and 
those the first three) to relate to this very thing : " Hal- 
lowed be Thy name ; Thy kingdom come ; Thy will 
be done on earth, as it is in heaven." — Matt. vi. 9, 10. 

But I will not weary you. Pray on. With your 
last breath pray for Zion, and for perishing sinners. 
And be of good cheer. Your salvation is nearer than 
when you believed. The day breaketh. 



DEATH OF AN OLD DISCIPLE. 

On the 15th of August, 1861, I visited a gentleman 
who was that day one hundred years old. His name 
was Robert Kennedy. On the day of my visit I 
wrote these things concerning him. He was born 
August 15, 1 76 1, in the parish of Carmichael in Ayr- 
shire, Scotland. He was the first child baptized by 
the Rev. John Ramsey, the minister of that parish. 
He married pretty, early in life, but has been a 
widower more than thirty .years. He has been the 
father of seven children, of whom two daughters only 
survive. He was never married but once. He has 
had tkirty-seven grandchildren, and thirty-seven great- 
grandchildren. Most of these survive. 

When young, Mr. Kennedy became connected with 
an anti-burgher church in Scotland, and continued in 
it till he was thirty-seven years old. But sixty-three 
years ago he joined the Independent Church at Pais- 
ley, then under the pastoral care of Rev. Alexander 
Morrison and Rev. James McGavin. In that church 
he became a deacon, and held that office till he re- 
moved to America, about thirty-four years ago. 

Mr. Kennedy has enjoyed almost uninterrupted 
health. Twice in his life his nervous energy has 
threatened to fail, and he has seemed inclined to 
melancholy. But these attacks did not last long. He 
has been through life, and still is, very methodical. 



130 The Christian. 

He takes very regular and suitable exercise. About 
six weeks ago he lost his last surviving son-in-law. 
Between these two there was a strong attachment, 
and it was feared the death of his son-in-law might 
affect his spirits. But he seemed able at once to re- 
sign him into the hands of God. 

Mr. Kennedy, so far as known by any of his family, 
has always been very kind in his temper, and has of 
course been very free from all malignant feelings and 
passions. 

His habits of devotion are well established. He 
reads the Scriptures constantly, and when the print is 
good he has no need of spectacles. The first thing 
he does in the morning is to read God's Word. On 
the Lord's day he reads nothing but the Bible. He 
still commits to memory a chapter in the Bible every 
day. He also spends much time in prayer during the 
night, when he supposes all around him are asleep. 
Then he prays audibly. 

He has never been known to allow a poor person 
to leave his dwelling without food, or the offer of it. 
Nor does he ever allow anything refuse to be offered 
them, nor anything which he would not be willing to 
use himself. 

Through life he has made it a rule not to introduce 
disagreeable topics of conversation, and to discourage 
others from doing it, unless it was really necessary. 
Of course gossip and tattle have never found favor in 
his sight. 

He was asked in my presence if he had any advice 
to give to his descendants on this his birthday. Point- 
ing to a Bible, which had just been presented to him 



An Old Disciple. — His End. 131 

by an affectionate granddaughter, he said : " That book 
gives better advice than I can. All I could say is chaff." 

He was asked : " What do you think of the Lord 
Jesus Christ ? " He said : " He is the true God man- 
ifest in the flesh," and immediately quoted I Tim. 
iii. 16. 

He still often leads in family prayer, and to the 
edification of all who unite with him. 

Very often in the night, when he supposes no one 
hears him, he is heard saying: " Come, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly." 

Though his vision is good, his hearing is very far 
from being perfect. 

Many will recognize in this sketch the ancestor of 
many respectable people in this country, and the 
great-grandfather of the children (on the mother's 
side) of Rev. N. West, D.D. 

Mr. Kennedy lived till he was nearly one hundred 
and seven years old. He died in Allegheny City, Pa., 
on the 16th of March, 1868. He retained the com- 
fortable use of all his faculties to the close of his life. 
He was remarkable for the simplicity and godly sin- 
cerity of his character. The Lord was with him to 
the end. He sleeps in Jesus. And if he sleep, he 
doeth well. 



A GREAT AND GOOD MAN. 

The Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D., of Charleston, 
S. C., is no more among the dying, but among the 
living. He has gone to his Father and his God. 
He has left behind him friends, who, like him, have 
washed their robes and made them white in the 
blood of the Lamb. 

Dr. Smyth was born in Belfast, Ireland, June 14, 
1808. Like many other distinguished men he felt 
through life a great indebtedness to maternal love. 
After his mother's death he wrote : " Most blessed 
mother, could my thanks now reach thee in thy 
bright throne above, I should here, amid these fall- 
ing tears, pour forth the grateful acknowledgments 
of thy long-cherished son. I love to think of thee, 
my mother, of thy illimitable, inexhaustible love." 

At the age of twenty-two he came to America, a 
graduate of Belfast College and an open and earnest 
professor of Christ's religion. He was received into 
the Presbyterian church at Paterson, N.J., in 1830. 
He studied at Princeton but one year, and in No- 
vember, 1 83 1, accepted an invitation to the Second 
Presbyterian church in Charleston, S. C. Here he 
spent his public life in toils and labors so abundant, 
so various, so useful, and so astonishing as to be a 
wonder to many. 

Not a few of Dr. Smyth's years were spent in the 



A Great and Good Man. 133 

midst of pain and infirmity, which would have ef- 
fectually laid aside from labor almost any other man. 
One stroke of enervating and paralytic disease follow- 
ed another until locomotion was difficult or impossi- 
ble, and until he was dumb with silence. But his 
amazing will determined to make the dumb to speak 
and the lame to walk, and he did it. When at last 
able to say to his tongue, "Awake, my glory," it was 
with a joy as exultant and as grateful as perhaps any 
one has ever exercised. 

Of the life, character, and labors of this excellent 
man, we have a charming account in a discourse 
preached by his admiring and eloquent successor, 
Rev. G. R. Brackett. It covers sixty-three well-filled 
octavo pages. No son could have written more lov- 
ingly. No orator could have uttered more exact 
truth. This discourse has been very properly pub- 
lished at the request of the congregation. It will 
live and be read with interest scores of years to 
come. Its production was without doubt a labor of 
love. 

Dr. Smyth's domestic and social relations were 
through life of the happiest kind. No man probably 
put a more just estimate upon such blessings. It 
was a great privilege to see him in the bosom of his 
large and lovely family. 

Dr. Smyth's views of the ministry closely agreed 
with those of Luther : " A preacher must be both a 
warrior and a shepherd." If David must fight with a 
lion and a bear or lose one of his lambs, then with a 
lion and a bear David will fight, and God will give 
the victory. But if the wild beasts will let him and 



134 The Christian. 

his flock alone, he will carry the lambs in his bosom, 
and gently lead his burdened ewes to green pastures 
and beside the still waters. 

I feel very sure the reader will thank me for giving 
two paragraphs of Dr. Smyth's fine writing quoted 
in the discourse above referred to. The first is his 
description of pain : " I have often thought I could 
write a natural history of pain. I have known her 
from childhood. We have walked arm in arm, dwelt 
in the same house, been occupants of the same bed. 
She is, like the chameleon, of every hue, and, like Pro- 
teus, of every shape. She is sometimes as quick as 
light, and again like an Alexandrian line, ' drags her 
slow length along.' Sometimes she is as the forked 
lightning, coursing in tortuous torture through every 
limb and fibre of the body, and dissolving the pent- 
up and collected clouds of bitterness into flooding 
tears ; and sometimes she is that lightning in its neg- 
ative form of quiet, dull monotony, or occasional 
playful flashes, just enough to rouse the attention 
and excite the fancy. Sometimes she languishes 
into the faint tones of an infant talking in its sleep, 
or like the bubbling groan of some strong swimmer 
in his agony, or like a strong man in the whirlwind 
of passion, she puts on an angel's might, and mystery 
of power." 

The other paragraph displays a lovely humility 
and a sweet submission to God's will : " I am sensi- 
ble of my entire weakness, dependence, and unwor- 
thiness. I have desired to take my place and posi- 
tion as God assigns it, neither taking the direction, 
nor refusing to follow; neither avoiding humiliation 



A Great and Good Man. 135 

nor exaltation ; having a profound sense of my own 
nothingness, and of my ill - desert, of any — the 
lowest seat among the great, wise, and good, and 
yet believing I can be and do all things God requires 
of me, through His wisdom guiding, and His grace 
strengthening. I have endeavored to distrust myself 
without distrusting God, and have endured many re- 
buffs, many hard blows, many contemptuous remarks 
and actions. I have been scorched, peeled, and an- 
nihilated ; filled with shame and self-loathing, and 
would gladly, a thousand times, have sunk into the 
earth, or fallen as a star of night, into darkness and 
nothingness. I have prayed God to disappoint all 
my desires, blast all my schemes, and throw contempt 
on all my pride, so far as is necessary to my sanctifi- 
cation and usefulness. I have endeavored to walk 
humbly and softly, and to receive as well-deserved 
the chastisement of the Lord. If a course of dis- 
couraging circumstances and adverse prospects be 
designed expressly for my chastisement, may I not 
hope that it was meant in mercy ? Raise and fix, Al- 
mighty Spirit, my fainting, wavering heart, to a true 
resignation, the only atmosphere of peace. Oh, pen- 
etrate with deeper, holier, happier views of things 
eternal, as imminent and near at hand, as swiftly ap- 
proaching and inconceivably glorious. Then, oh my 
God, let earthly hopes be darkness, earthly joys ex- 
pire, intervening sadness, as well as final sickness and 
death with all their pains, lie before me, I will adore 
Thee with a grateful heart, and pray never more to 
complain, but chide my every regret, and suppress 
all my repinings." 



136 . , The Christian. 

Sleep on, thou blessed soldier of the Cross, till 
Christ shall raise thee up in glory with a body fash- 
ioned like unto His glorious body. 



ANOTHER GREAT AND GOOD MAN. 

The late Dr. Thomas De Witt was a wonderful 
man. He had a long line of illustrious ancestors, 
both in this country and in Holland. This fact fur- 
nished no fuel for vanity, nor excuse for indolence. 
He felt from childhood that a man is not to be judged 
by the deeds of his forefathers. So studious was he, 
that even at the academy the boys called him Sir 
Isaac Newton. At the age of sixteen he graduated 
with high honor. At the theological seminary he 
made a deep impression of his powers and principles. 

In his domestic relations Dr. De Witt was most 
happy. " A prudent wife is from the Lord." Good 
children are an inheritance of great value. All the 
members of that family lived for the honor of the 
Redeemer in the usefulness of him who was their 
honored head. Oh, how they delighted to see him 
serving God in the Gospel of His Son. 

Dr. De Witt's life was not without great and sharp 
trials. Of his eight children, six had passed over the 
river that has no bridge before their parents. Some 
of these were taken very suddenly. One died when 
an ocean lay between him and his parents. But in 
all these trials Dr. De Witt murmured not, nor 
charged God foolishly. He loved to sing of mercies, 
even when bowing down under great afflictions. God 
was glorified in his sorrows as well as in his joys. 



138 The Christian. 

Dr. De Witt was an excellent preacher. His pul- 
pit was his throne. There he wielded the sceptre of 
truth and love over the hearts of an admiring people. 
His mode of preparing was chiefly mental or by short 
sketches. This suited him best. His was a free spirit. 
It luxuriated in discursive thought and speech. Yet 
he well repaid any attention given him. He never 
served God or the people of his charge with that 
which cost him nothing. He read a good deal, but 
he thought more. One of his colleagues well de- 
scribes his preaching thus : " His audience heard a 
piece of close dialectics ; or a fine play of imagina- 
tion ; or a chapter of genuine religious experience ; 
or a glowing appeal to the heart — all delivered with 
such an abandon of manner, as showed the utter ab- 
sorption of the speaker in his theme." This reminds 
one of Bates speaking of Richard Baxter's " noble 
negligence of style." 

Dr. De Witt was very industrious, yet always 
seemed at leisure. He was never in a hurry, yet he 
was far from being dilatory. " No one who sought 
his advice, or asked his kindness, ever heard from his 
lips the reply, '/ have no time! " His promptness in 
meeting all engagements was most exemplary. 

The last great public act of his life was the dedica- 
tion of the Reformed church at the corner of Forty- 
eighth Street and Fifth Avenue. When he concluded, 
a friendly spectator unconsciously said : " Now let- 
test Thou Thy servant depart in peace." He was 
then eighty years of age, and had been preaching 
the Gospel sixty years. 

In October, 1873, Mrs. De Witt departed this life. 



A?tothcr Great and Good Man, 139 

This was a great trial to all concerned, but to the 
aged, widowed husband the stroke was fearful, though 
borne in much patience, his strong faith giving glory 
to God. When her coffin was lowered to its resting- 
place, his struggling emotions gave vent to them- 
selves in these words : " Farewell, my beloved, hon- 
ored, faithful wife. The tie that united us is severed. 
Thou art with Jesus in glory, and He is with me by 
His grace. I shall soon be with you. Farewell." 

Dr. De Witt had a very refined delicacy that made 
all feel at ease in his presence, and yet made all love 
to serve him. To one who greatly loved him, shortly 
before his death, he said : " Do you think you will be 
able to take care of me a little longer? " Thus, by 
natural, gentle, winning ways, he knit all hearts to 
him. 

What was the secret of the formation of this great 
character ? Perhaps twenty answers may be given, 
and all of them contain some truth. One says / 
' The elements of his moral greatness were humility 
and truth." That is so. No great character was 
ever formed in pride or falsehood. One who has long 
and intimately known him says that, although Dr. 
De Witt was a great talker, he never heard from him 
a word of twaddle, a sentence of idle gossip, nor an 
undignified remark on any subjec:. 

All great characters are remarkable for faith — for 
demanding evidence, and when it is given, for receiv- 
ing it. This was remarkably the case with the great 
Socrates, though a poor heathen. It was strikingly 
true of Sir Matthew Hale. It was as true of Dr. De 
Witt. His faith was of the operation of God, and 



140 The Christian. 

30 had a strength which no mere natural principle of 
credence could possess. Love, too, was present with 
her sweet influences. Who can ever forget the thrill- 
ing power with which in 1F25 he quoted these lines 
from Milton ? It was at the formation of the Amer- 
ican Tract Society : 

" But rise, let us no more contend, nor blame 
Each other, blamed enough elsewhere, but strive, 
In offices of love, how we may lighten 
Each other's burden in our share of woe." 

Dr. Adams began his address at the funeral with 
the words, " Dear Dr. De Witt," and it found an 
echo in a thousand breasts. 

Dr. James W. Alexander once said of him : "Taken 
all in all, no living man has a more desirable or de- 
servedly high standing in the Church of God than 
Dr. Thomas De Witt." 

The reader will pardon the author for paying this 
tribute to the memory of a life-long friend who al- 
ways said, as David, that Divine gentleness had made 
him great. 



WHAT CAN I DO. 

" What can I do ? " asked M., adding, " I am a 
poor, feeble, erring creature. I know nothing aright 
till I am taught of God. I find my strength to be 
perfect weakness. My wisdom is folly. I make 
many mistakes. When I would do good, evil is 
present with me." 

Now, dear M., let me say a few plain things for. 
your guidance and encouragement. It is true that, 
if you are left to yourself, you are as weak as water. 
But God's plan is to make the feeble like David, and 
the house of David as the angel of God. Think as 
little of yourself as the truth will allow, and yet say, 
" Surely, in the Lord have I righteousness and 
strength." Look away from yourself. You have, no 
doubt, often trusted in yourself in a foolish and sinful 
way, forgetting that " even the youths shall faint and 
be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail, but 
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; 
they shall run and not be weary ; they shall walk and 
not faint." We can not be too much emptied of self; 
we can not too confidingly trust in the Lord. 

A just sense of your weakness, therefore, so far 
from being a disqualification for usefulness, is really 
a preparation for it. " When I am weak, then am I 
strong," is true of the people of God in all their ways 
and duties. 



142 The Christian. 

Let me advise you never to put yourself in a state 
either of indifference or of hostility to any good work 
or plan. It is impossible for every man to give effect- 
ive aid in every enterprise. But let him not dis- 
courage or hinder others who can push it forward. 

Be careful, too, lest while you are doing nothing 
good, you are doing something wrong. Some good 
people do a world of mischief. They display such 
carnal affections, are so much like men of the world, 
practice so little prudence, so often allow their good 
to be evil spoken of, and manifest such want of ten- 
derness of conscience, that they give great occasion 
to the enemy to speak reproachfully. 

If you would be useful on a large scale, take these 
hints : 

1. Whatever your hand findeth to do, do it with 
your might. Pursue no good thing with languor. 
Feeble exertions court opposition and create embar- 
rassments. 

2. Believe assuredly that God can and will bestow 
a blessing on right plans rightly conducted. Be not 
faithless. Take God at His word. It is never relied 
on in vain. 

3. Be patient and not fretful and restless. The 
husbandman hath long patience and waiteth for the 
precious fruits of the earth. Many a scheme can not 
be executed in a day or a month. If a man would 
raise a forest of oaks, he must not expect to see his 
desires fully accomplished in even one long life-time. 
Let us sow seed. Let us plant acorns. 

4. Do not try to control Providence, but find out 
and conform yourself to its plans. Men may some- 



What Can I Do? 143 

'times dream of making water run up stream. But 
they never really succeed. " Mind .not high things, 
but condescend to men of low estate." 

5. Be not easily discouraged. Hope on. Hope 
ever. A very experienced laborer says that he has 
frequently seen the happiest results flowing from 
labors performed under the greatest discouragements. 
Many have said as much. Look not much at dis- 
couragements. 

6. Pray much. " To pray frequently is to pray 
fervently." Pitch your tent hard by the mercy-seat. 
Pray without ceasing. Never be at ease in Zion. 
" The voice that rolls the stars along spake all the 
promises." Plead them before God. Adopt the 
language of one of old : " I will not let thee go except 
thou bless me." 

7. Enlist, so far as you can, the prayers and co- 
operation of others, especially of humble good people. 
Waiting on the great for help and patronage is very 
tedious and discouraging. Hardly anything is more 
so. People of good sense and ardent piety, in the 
middle walks of life, are commonly the best coadjutors. 

8. Having done your best, cast yourself and your 
endeavors wholly on God's great mercy in Christ 
Jesus. Seek to have yourself and your labors washed 
in atoning blood. Freely admit that you are nothing, 
that you deserve nothing, and that all you dare to 
hope to be and to obtain, is wholly through God's 
sovereign grace. Be humble. 



POSTHUMOUS USEFULNESS. 

Dr. Doddridge has a chapter showing that we 
ought to glorify God in our death. And reason would 
show that we should try so to live as to be useful 
even after death. The Scriptures say of Abel : " He, 
being dead, yet speaketh." This was said of a man 
nearly four thousand years after his time. This should 
encourage us to zeal in our Master's service. Such 
cases are not rare, nor are they confined to olden 
times. 

There never was a time when the examples and 
principles of such patriots as Hampden, Sidney, La 
Fayette, and Washington were more potent for good 
than the last fifty years. In a single year two lives 
of Washington have recently been published — one in 
English and one in French. The deeds, and even 
the features, of the heroes of modern freedom are 
familiar in the halls of the monarchs of Asia. Every 
year the domain of sound principles of freedom is 
widening. The lustre of the example of the true 
friends of our race is gradually obscuring the imperial 
splendor of all the absolutism of earth. 

On moral and religious subjects the influence of the 
dead is felt even more than on questions of politics. 
Who can tell the power wielded since his death, as 
well as before, by the pen of Dr. Archibald Alexander? 
A single institution has, up to December, 1874, 



Posthumous Usefulness. 145 

sent out thirteen tracts written by him, in quantities 
varying from 2,000 to 53,000 copies each — in all 235,- 
250 copies of his tracts, or 6,476,000 pages of these 
excellent little treatises. The same institution (Pres- 
byterian Board of Publication) has issued eleven of his 
books — in all 171,900 copies, or 52,978,900 pages of 
such works as the " Way of Salvation," " Religious 
Experience," etc.; 50,000 copies of his "Evidences 
of Christianity " have gone forth to bless the world ; 
also nearly 40,000 copies of his " Religious Experi- 
ence." 

Another publishing institution (the American Tract 
Society) has sent out eleven of his tracts in numbers 
varying from 16,000 to 506,000 copies — in all 1,816,000 
copies, and of pages 16,536,000. It has also issued three 
of his books, and 32,500 copies, or 5,428,500 pages, 
have been sent forth by the Tract Society. 

And this work of printing the works of this precise 
and practical writer is but just begun. The demand 
seems to be increasing rather than diminishing. 
Neither man nor angel can tell the power of this 
one writer for good. He being dead, yet speaketh. 

Such things invest life with the deepest solemnity. 
" Whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap." 
He shall reap many fold. Both good and evil have 
a vast power of multiplying. The late pious Dr. 
Porter, of Andover, Mass., wrote a sermon, afterward 
published as a tract, entitled " Great Effects from 
Little Causes." In that he has traced out at some 
length the effect of the pious labors of the mother of 
Philip Doddridge in teaching her little son. The 
time will come when the least successful labor of love 



146 The Christian. 

shall be invested with more importance and more 
glory than Dr. Porter has been able to throw around 
the scrap of history here referred to. 

Nor shall God ever cease to own His people and 
their pious labors. Their prayers, examples, sayings, 
and writings exert an influence long after they bid 
farewell to earth. However long ago genuine sup- 
plications and intercessions for the cause of Christ 
may have been offered, they are still sweet odors be- 
fore God. Many have suggested that Saul of Tarsus 
was probably converted and saved in answer to the 
last prayer of the first martyr, Stephen. There is as 
sweet a savor in the prayer of the psalmist, " O send 
out Thy light and Thy truth," as in the day it was 
first offered. And a good life, how does God delight 
in it. He never forgets it. In His book of remem- 
brance it is all delineated, even down to the giving 
of a cup of cold water. So a good song, or saying, 
or book may be blessed long after its pious author has 
slept the sleep of death. Their virtue ever depended 
on the truth they taught, and the spirit they breathed, 
and not at all on the natural life of him who wrote 
them. Blessed be God for all the bright hopes which 
His people are warranted to cherish for usefulness in 
this world after death, as well as for the glory, honor 
and immortalitv in the world that is to come. 



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